Protecting Information vs. Protecting Public Interest

"Protecting Information vs. Protecting Public Interest: Towards an Optimum Balance between Public Interest and the Protection of Information in Criminal Law Proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina" is a project jointly implemented by the Center for Social Research Analitika and the Association of Prosecutors of Federation of BiH. This project is supported by the USAID.

The project focuses on the problem area of balancing protection of information (including personal data) in criminal proceedings on one hand, and the protection of the interest of justice and public interest in criminal proceedings on the other. The broad aim of the project is to contribute to the optimum level of transparency of the prosecutors' offices and courts in terms of disclosing information in criminal case proceedings. The particular focus of the project on criminal proceedings is justified by the current developments in this field in BiH (i.e. the practice of so called anonymisation), and because of the particular importance criminal proceedings have in the eyes of public.

The project activities are divided into three phases:    

1)    mapping the field and various practice in BiH on this issue and broadening policy options (whereby the main output will be a baseline paper analyzing the current practices  in BiH in this area, and   production of possible options and recommendations for regulating this field from a  comparative perspective);    

2)    inclusive and participatory policy development as the first stage of advocacy efforts (involving consultation events with key stakeholders, including civil society and the media;  developing  Model Instructions for Disclosing Information in Criminal Proceedings, and; producing a Policy Brief providing information about the problem, policy options , and elaboration of the proposed policy solution);    

3)    Advocating for Change (including public events for key stakeholders, civil society and media; promotional activities, such as publishing and distributing of the policy brief; publishing newspaper articles and professional articles on the topic, and; undertaking an official policy initiative directed towards the relevant decision-makers- the HJPC in particular.  

The project targets key stakeholders in the justice sector (decision-makers, judges, prosecutors), representatives of other institutions of relevance for the area of intervention (such as the Agency for the Protection of Data of BiH, archives etc.), and finally, but certainly not least important – journalists and NGOs engaged in the justice sector.