II. COMPOSITION OF THE CHAMBER

A. Members of the Chamber

The Human Rights Chamber has fourteen members as set forth in Article VII of Annex 6 to the Dayton Agreement (attached to this Report as Annex A). Four members were appointed by the Federation of BiH, two by the Republika Srpska, and the remaining eight by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Pursuant to Annex 6, the members appointed by the Council of Europe (the international members) may not be citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina or any neighbouring state. The President of the Chamber has been designated by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from among the international members. The members appointed are all distinguished lawyers and bring to the Chamber a wide variety of experience in different backgrounds including the judiciary, the academic sphere, private legal practice, administration and politics, and international, criminal and human rights law. A list of the members and short biographies are attached to this Report as Annex B.

B. Secretariat of the Chamber

The Secretariat is the full-time staff of the Chamber based in Sarajevo with an additional office in Banja Luka. At the end of 1999, the Secretariat included 25 staff members in the Sarajevo headquarters and 9 staff members (including 3 security) in the Banja Luka office. A list of the staff of the Secretariat is attached to this Report as Annex C.

Most of the staff in the Sarajevo and Banja Luka offices are nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Chamber has primarily relied on direct funding from individual governments to cover the costs of international staff. The United States government, for example, has provided the funding for the Chamber's Executive Officer since 1997 and for two international lawyers. The Austrian and German governments have also provided funding for international lawyers. The Council of Europe has made available a Registrar to the Chamber from among its staff on the European Court of Human Rights (the Chamber pays the cost of a replacement in Strasbourg). The Chamber usually hosts two unpaid interns at a time during the year for periods ranging from two to six months. During 1999 interns from Italy, Germany and the United States contributed to the work of the Chamber.

The Human Rights Chamber is provided office space by the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Presidency Building in Sarajevo. Public hearings are held at the Sarajevo Cantonal Court. The Chamber rents private space for its office in Banja Luka.