1. What is the title, rank and position of the Legal Adviser?

In accordance with the Internal Organization and Systematization act of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Office of the Legal Adviser has not been organized as a separate unit of organization. The Head of the Department for International Legal Affairs (DILA) gives legal opinions and advises in relation to acts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in international relation from the point of view of international law. The DILA is a part of the diplomatic servise. Its Head is a high-ranking professional diplomat, usually a Minister counsellor or Ambassador, a lawyer specialised in international law with diplomatic training.

2. What are the principal functions of the OLA?

The principal functions of the DILA are:

- to prepare legal opinions and advices as regards to the process of entering of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the international bilateral and multilateral treaty relations;
- to participate and coordinate all stage of the negotiations for concluding bilateral international agreements to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Party;
- to participate and represent Bosnia and Herzegovina in negotiations for multilateral international agreements;
- to initiate and coordinate the national procedure for signature, accession and ratification of the international agreements to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Party;
- to fulfil the function of depositary of international agreements to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Party and to maintain the database.

3. Please give a brief description of staff employed by the OLA, including overseas staff. What is the distribution of posts between men and women within the OLA and what category of staff do they respectively belong to?

At this moment the staff of the DILA consists of five officers (+ Head of the Department), specialized in international law, holding all diplomatic ranks. Four of them are women.

The diplomatic service of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides no special positions for the lawyers in its diplomatic and consular missions abroad. Legal officers of the Department for International Legal Affairs are usually rotated abroad to work as a diplomat or consular officers at Bosnia and Herzegovina diplomatic or consular missions.

4. Are there any specific recruitment and promotion policies, provisions and/or quotas to ensure non-discrimination and equal opportunities, e.g. for the underrepresented sex, for persons with disabilities or for persons belonging to ethnic or religious minorities or of immigrant origin?

The only specific precondition for the recruitment in the DILA that is distinct from the other requirements for the recruitment in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Foreign Service is the academic degree in law.

5. Is OLA staff trained on gender equality issues and are these issues mainstreamed into the OLA’s work?

The DILA staff has a certain training on gender equality issues and these issues are basically mainstreamed into the DILA work.

6. Briefly describe the organisation and structure of the OLA.

The DILA is composed of the Head of the Department and five diplomats. Each of them deals with specific issues – legal affairs concerning certain countries or international organisations.

7. What is the OLA’s place within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

The DILA is integral part of the Division for International Legal and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to the fact that there are only six employees (including the Head) at this moment, there has not been made any structural division within the Department for International Legal Affairs.

8. What are the main contacts of the OLA within Government?

The Head of the Department for International Legal Affairs, as well as the DILA as a whole, maintains regular working contact with relevant departments of the ministries and agencies of the Council od Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

9. Please describe the relations of the OLA with lawyers in private practice, academics and legal institutions.

The DILA maintains active contacts with academic circles and professional legal community and actively co-operates with state authorities, institutions and universities in the process od legal research. The DILA also provides assistance to private practise and legal institutions.

10. Please provide a brief bibliography on the OLA, if available.

No bibliography concerning the work and role of the DILA is available.