Keynote Elche 2024: Barbora Holá

Elche 20-21 June 2024

Doing justice after atrocities – a case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the aftermath of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990’s criminal law and prosecutions were considered the main and the most appropriate response to widespread atrocities committed during the conflict. Criminal law was seen not only as a reactive tool for punishing individuals but also as a panacea for broader political and societal issues considered at the roots of large-scale violence and crimes. Hopes and aspirations of justice advocates were running high.

Thirty years and hundreds of international and national prosecutions on, the time is ripe to critically evaluate the empirical reality of ‘doing justice after atrocities’ in Bosnia. Was justice done and seen to be done? Based on existing legal empirical research this keynote will explore sobering realities of atrocity prosecutions and punishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina and critically assess and discuss criminal law as a tool of reacting to and preventing atrocity crimes.

Are you interested in attending the keynote by Barbora Holá during our Annual Conference? And to attend the keynote by Mathias Siems? Please register here.