War Reparations in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Individual Stories and Collective Interests

Abstract

This chapter looks at war reparations mechanisms for Bosnian war victims. Our central question is to what extent the potentially antagonistic divide between individual and collective claims mechanisms, as conceptualised in transitional justice literature, exists in the Bosnian context. We looked at how three types of mechanisms have worked in practice during and in the aftermath of the Bosnian war. We analysed, first of all, the collective reparation programs that were instigated and overseen by the international community and administered by the three parties to the Dayton Peace Accords after the war. Second, we looked at national reparations efforts within the two post-Yugoslavian entities, Republika Srpska (RS) and the federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). And lastly, we analysed instances of both individual civil litigation and criminal proceedings against individual perpetrators of war crimes both in and outside Bosnia. We argue that all these mechanisms have ultimately always served interests beyond those of the particular claimants who have been assisted by them. They have helped establish historical truths and determine the responsibility of individual actors and institutions. They have bolstered a growing demand for leaders to be held to account. Finally, they have contributed to the further development of the international body of law on reparations.