Balkan Legal News – 28 January 2026

The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 22 January to 27 January 2026. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.

Guernica 37 Balkan Legal News

Bosnia & Hercegovina – 27 January 2026

Former detainees on Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the closing of the notorious Silos detention camp at a commemoration at the site of the wartime camp in Tarcin, a village west of the capital Sarajevo. Around 500 Serb civilians were detained at the Silos camp at various times, some of them for as many as 1,334 days. Around 90 Croat detainees were also held at the camp. Prisoners were held in inhumane and often overcrowded concrete cells, and were beaten and abused. They were also made to do forced labour on the front lines, where they were also mistreated. The full article is available here.

Romania – 27 January 2026

Romania is considering lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14, Justice Minister Radu Marinescu said on Tuesday, following a recent crime that shocked the country, and amid an increase in serious offences involving minors. “We have set up a group of specialists who will analyse whether current legislation is still adequate, particularly regarding the age at which minors can be held criminally responsible”, Marinescu said. Under Romanian law, children under 14 cannot be held criminally liable, while those aged between 14 and 16 can only be prosecuted if it is proven they acted with discernment. Full criminal responsibility applies only from the age of 16. The full article is available here.

Montenegro – 26 January 2026

Montenegro on Monday closed another chapter of the EU legislation that the country needs to adopt in order to join the bloc – Chapter 32, which focuses on the financial controls the country needs to impose. “Today we delivered another important milestone in Montenegro’s European path”, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told a press conference with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic in Brussels. The full article is available here.

Bosnia & Hercegovina – 26 January 2026

The Bosnian state court on Monday found Miodrag Malic guilty of glorifying former Bosnian Serb military and political leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic – contravening a state law that prohibits the public praising of war crimes and genocide convicts. The court found that Serb Democratic Party activist Malic committed the offence at a rally of opposition parties in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska, in November 2022. The full article is available here.

Western Balkans – 26 January 2026

Road freight companies across the Western Balkans erected road blockades on Monday in protest against the new European Union Entry-Exit System – EES, which was rolled out at the end of last year, and is designed to strengthen security for travellers from non-EU countries. Western Balkan transport operators say the EES rules and other EU regulations could threaten their competitiveness and reduce their income. Drivers say the rules will create operational and administrative burdens that could force many out of work. The full article is available here.

Kosovo – 23 January 2026

Kosovo police took 109 people into custody in the southern town of Prizren on Friday in a large-scale operation related to allegations of vote-tampering in the parliamentary election on December 28. The arrests are part of a probe that the prosecution launched last weekend, when the Central Election Commission, CEC, announced evidence of mass manipulation of the votes for candidates within parties’ lists. The full article is available here.

Kosovo & Serbia – 23 January 2026

About two-and-a-half years after Kosovo’s premier Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed to a declaration on missing persons in May 2023, the two countries took the main step towards implementing this declaration: the establishment of a Joint Commission on Missing Persons. The move raises hopes that more of the 1,600 people still missing from the 1998-99 Kosovo war may be found, as efforts to find missing persons’ remains have stalled in recent years due to lack of information about burial sites. Most of the missing are Kosovo Albanians, but also some Serbs. The full article is available here.

Montenegro – 23 January 2026

Montenegro, an EU candidate country often described as a frontrunner among Western Balkan aspirants, marks Journalists’ Day on Friday amid what media representatives say is a deteriorating environment for journalists, marred by attacks, political pressure and economic insecurity. The Media Union of Montenegro said safety conditions for journalists has worsened over the past year, while political pressure intensified and economic conditions showed no improvement. The full article is available here.

Balkans – 22 January 2026

Kosovo, Bulgaria and Turkey, along with representatives of other countries, joined US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, at the signing ceremony of the “Board of Peace” Charter, creating a new international body supposedly aimed at resolving conflicts around the world. Albania’s parliament on Wednesday was debating the invitation to Prime Minister Edi Rama to join the board, although a decision has not yet been made. Of the other Balkan countries, Croatia and Slovenia have confirmed publicly they were invited by Trump, but have not announced their responses. Other former Yugoslav countries’ leaders have not mentioned if they have been asked to join. The full article is available here