The Brcko Legal Reform Office (BLRO) has completed its mandate and will close on 31 December 2003.
The BLRO is the successor office to the Brcko Law Revision Commission (BLRC), which was established in June 1999 within the mandate of the Brcko Arbitration Final Award. Under the auspices of OHR Brcko the BLRC drafted reform legislation, and developed and implemented the means to establish a single independent judicial system for the Brcko District.
OHR determined in October 2001 that the primary functions of the BLRC had been substantially fulfilled and the BLRO, as the successor office was then primarily dedicated to the assistance and training of the Brcko Judiciary. Numerous training opportunities have been made available to the District judges and prosecutors in several countries in Europe and in the United States.
The judicial Branch in the District has rapidly developed, with an unusually well qualified group of judges and lawyers. The Brcko District Judiciary has advanced professionally to the point where a full-time office for support is no longer necessary. The BLRO will close with the assurance that the judiciary is functioning independently and is able to ensure that fair and accessible justice is available to all, regardless of ethnicity or nationality, through basic principles of transparency and accountability.