Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 29 December to 5 January 2023.

Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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.

Serbia – 5 January 2023

Aleksandar Vucic said that nine more countries, six of them in Africa, have withdrawn their recognition of Kosovo’s Independence, claiming that now 'only 84 [countries] unequivocally recognize it'. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 05 January 2023

In 2022, the Bosnian prosecution charged 60 people with war crimes, although ten of them are outside the country so can’t be brought to trial – a problem that the new chief prosecutor has promised to tackle. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 05 January 2023

Early legislative elections appear far more likely after talks on forming a new government within the current parliament collapsed. The full article can be found here.

Romania – 05 January 2023

Romania President Presses Ukraine on Minority Rights. Iohannis says Zelensky pledged to resolve Romania's concerns about its minority in Ukraine – and about Ukraine's new law on national minorities. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 04 January 2023

Since the Netherlands started offering compensation to relatives of certain Srebrenica genocide victims because Dutch peacekeeping troops failed to protect them, millions of euros have been paid out, but several thousand applications are pending. The Full article can be found here.

Croatia – 02 January 2023

Croatia has adopted the euro and joined the European Union’s borderless Schengen zone, two steps that its prime minister said represented a historic moment. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 30 December 2022

The Bosnian prosecution charged 15 former guards with crimes against civilians and prisoners of war who were detained at the Military-Investigative Prison in Banja Luka, known as Mali Logor, from 1992 to 1995. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 29 December 2022

Serbian prosecutors said they are investigating a Kosovo Albanian man for alleged arms possession and trafficking after the Security Intelligence Agency said he is suspected of involvement in terrorism. The full article can be found here.