First episode date January 2010 | ||
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Program creator BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
TV Justice is a monthly high-quality television show covering war crimes trials in Bosnia and Herzegovina produced by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH). TV Justice is part of BIRN BiH’s Justice Series Programme, which aims to increase understanding of and support for the work of local judicial institutions dealing with war crimes. Furthermore it aims to increase the transparency of the judicial system and thereby help towards the truth and reconciliation process of the region.
Contents
History
TV Justice, a 30-minute television programme, was launched in January 2010. A couple of years earlier BIRN BiH had already expanded its Justice Series programme successfully to radio, and after establishing the monthly TV show, the programme has been able to reach an even larger audience. Episodes of TV Justice exceed the task of reporting war crimes by portraying all sorts of post-conflict issues and problems that Bosnia and its people face. The show reminds viewers of the importance of dealing with the past in BiH.
TV Justice is provided in English and Bosnian online, and is distributed to television stations for broadcasting throughout the country, the region and internationally.
Achievements
TV Justice has had an important impact on the lives of individuals as well as for larger audiences. In May 2012, BIRN BiH became the first organization in the country to publicly address the issue of anonymization of the courts documents and other information material. BIRN BiH’s TV Justice Special, a two-hour debate on the issue, was the first step towards advocacy activities, which culminated in the organization's “Stop censorship about war crimes” campaign which was launched in June 2013. Furthermore, TV Justice has empowered victims of war crimes. The TV Justice episode about crimes committed in the detention camp in Dretelj featured a survivor who stated that without BIRN BiH’s TV magazine he would have not been aware of the possibility for legally pursuing reparation and damages for the suffering he went through. In addition, according to the vox populi research conducted in local communities all over Bosnia, TV Justice has aided in increasing understanding and trust in the judiciary. Many viewers have stated that BIRN BiH TV Justice is their primary source of information on war crimes related issues.
Since the project was launched in 2009, BIRN BiH has produced objective television coverage of over 150 war crimes trials on the state level. A testimony to its success is the fact that the number of viewers of TV Justice has tripled since 2009.