On the first day of the session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), the chief state and entity prosecutors, as well as the acting chief prosecutor of Brčko District, presented their work reports for the year 2025.
The focus of the presentation was on the results in the processing of cases of corruption, organized crime and war crimes, as well as the problems faced by the prosecutor’s offices, among which the failure to submit reports by police agencies was highlighted.
The Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milanko Kajganić, pointed out that during the past year, this institution was focused on cases of organized crime, including cases related to the Sky and Ana applications, as well as on the priority resolution of war crimes cases.
According to him, the collective norm of 134 percent was achieved, while 138 indictments were brought against 296 persons. Kajganić emphasized that the quality of the confirmed indictments was high, and that there were no accepted complaints about negative decisions, while only one complaint was filed at the end of December.
Judgments and sentences
“Based on our indictments, a total of 271 years of imprisonment and fines in the amount of one million and 206 thousand convertible marks were imposed,” Kajganić said. He added that 121 first-instance and 140 final verdicts were issued based on those indictments.
When it comes to war crimes cases, six people were sentenced in the first instance to a total of 30 and a half years in prison, while five were acquitted. Proceedings against two people were suspended due to their deaths. According to second-instance verdicts, as he stated, 14 people were sentenced to a total of 117 years in prison, while six were acquitted.
Kajganić stated that 51 trials for war crimes against 234 persons are currently being conducted before the Court of BiH, as well as five second-instance proceedings against 11 persons. 43 indictments were also confirmed against 50 persons who are not available to judicial authorities. During the last year, 11 indictments were brought against 25 persons.
Processing problems
One of the biggest challenges in the work, according to Kajganić, is the slow pace of trials, but also the increasing number of unavailable suspects.
“For the first time, we have come to a situation where we have more cases in which persons are unavailable than those in which they are available,” he said, adding that the transfer of cases to the countries of the region is not going according to the desired dynamics.
Speaking about cases of corruption and organized crime, Kajganić stated that 116 first-instance and 133 final verdicts were pronounced, while a total of 154 years of imprisonment were pronounced by final verdicts.
Forfeiture of property
He particularly emphasized the results in confiscation of illegally acquired property.
“In 2025, it was proposed to confiscate property benefits in the amount of about 28.9 million marks, which is four times more than in 2024,” Kajganić said.
He added that the temporarily blocked property is worth 8.3 million marks, while according to the judgments, property benefits of more than seven million marks were permanently confiscated.
Kajganić also pointed to the problem of the lack of police reports in corruption cases.
“In 2025, we opened 197 cases of corruption. Of these, SIPA submitted one report, the Border Police three, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS one report. As in previous years, we did not receive a single report for criminal acts of high corruption,” he said.
He pointed out that natural and legal persons submitted 90 reports, while 43 anonymous criminal reports were also received.
Report from Republika Srpska
The Chief Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Republika Srpska Željka Radović stated that this institution resolved all objections and complaints.
The special department of this prosecutor’s office achieved a collective norm of 104.96 percent, and during the year 174 reports were received against 416 persons, most of which were resolved. 47 investigations were initiated against 64 persons, while a total of 75 investigations were in progress. 22 indictments were brought against 29 persons.
Radović pointed out that the Special Department realized most of the strategic goals defined within the prosecutor’s system, and that the district prosecutor’s offices also achieved the planned results.
“There is no submission of reports by police agencies, that is the basic problem. Citizens submit reports less and less often, probably due to fear of reprisals or negative consequences,” said Radović.
Work in the Federation
Chief Federal Prosecutor Munib Halilović spoke about the work of the Special Department for Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime, which began operating in April last year.
According to him, that department received 1,156 cases. 192 complaints were resolved, 15 investigations were completed, while seven indictments were filed.
Halilović stated that one of the challenges was the method of taking over cases from the cantonal prosecutor’s offices, which is why three mandatory instructions were issued.
As he said, 28 war crimes cases remained unresolved in the cantons, of which 17 were investigations and 11 were reported. He also emphasized that a large number of persons in those cases are unavailable to the judiciary.
Brčko District Report
Acting Chief Prosecutor of Brčko District, Radmilo Ivanović, stated that the Prosecutor’s Office of this district resolved all reports in criminal cases from last year, more than 290 of them.
During 2025, 195 indictments were brought, including five for corruption and organized crime.
“In 2025, we brought only 13 indictments less than in 2024, when three more prosecutors worked on investigation cases,” Ivanović said.
He added that according to the indictments of the Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office, 179 convictions were pronounced, while 12 were acquittals, and there were no negative verdicts.
Ivanović concluded that the results in the fight against corruption and organized crime are satisfactory, but that it is still necessary to improve the work, especially in the segment of proactive action by the police and other authorized officials, writes Focus.
