JACA marks a year of training delivery for BiH prosecutors

Sarajevo – On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the USAID's Judiciary Against Corruption Activity (JACA), a DPI-led, USD 8 million project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), organized a conference for prosecutors - participants of the Individualized Training Program, who work on high-corruption and organized crime cases. The conference served the dual purpose of also marking the successful completion of the first year of a multi-year training program delivery for prosecutors from select offices across BiH.

The training program is attended by 35 prosecutors and 6 expert associates from six partner prosecutor's offices - Bihać, Mostar, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, and the Special Department of the Republika Srpska Prosecutor’s Office from Banja Luka. Conference participants discussed further training needs, the results achieved in prosecuting high-profile corruption and organized crime cases, and their overall satisfaction with the courses’ content and delivery.

Topics covered during the first year of the training program delivery were broad and varied, tailor-made to respond to needs identified by the prosecutors. These included, among others:

Training on special investigative measures – Under which circumstances should special investigative measures be used? What are the challenges of proposing and conducting special investigative measures?

Criminal offences related to market manipulation and abuse - What are the general rules in operating at the stock exchange? What are the consequences of leaking stock market classified information?

Training on stress management and understanding our emotions - Prosecutors learned more about understanding stress, and how to deal with anxiety, fear and uncertainty. Also, techniques on how to reduce stress levels and gain back control were presented.

Public appearance and speaking training - Unconvincing prosecutors in contact with the court, witnesses, or police can negatively impact the outcome of a case. Learning about skills such as adequate tone of voice and diction, nonverbal cues, gestures, and facial expressions was very useful in order to enable training participants to combine the power of persuasion with strong arguments and communicate effectively when presenting their cases.

JACA will deliver 14 more training sessions throughout 2022, as part of the second year of the program. The training calendar was agreed with the decision makers and approved by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council.

JACA is delivering multi-year, individualized training programs for both prosecutors and judges in BiH. The goal is to build a cadre of well-trained legal professionals who can deliver justice for society by acting with the requisite professional knowledge and skills in interpreting and applying the law, as well as judicial practice to the facts.