At the initiative of TI BiH, a new Law on Conflict of Interest of FBiH has been submitted to the procedure

Sarajevo, 28 January 2026. years – For almost 13 years, there has been no body in the Federation of BiH that determines conflicts of interest, and numerous officials who perform multiple functions while their private companies freely obtain state contracts exploit this legal chaos. As the resolution of this issue has been obstructed for years, Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH), with the support of 13 representatives, launched an initiative and submitted to the procedure a proposal for a new Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Government Bodies in FBiH. The TI BiH initiative was supported by representatives from Our Party, SDA, NIP, DF, SBiH, HRS, and one independent representative. The goal of the proposal submitted to the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament is to establish an independent body that will determine and sanction conflicts of interest, verify asset declarations, and define clear rules regarding incompatible functions and restrictions relating to the private interests of officials.

Data from the Public Functions Registry established by TI BiH shows that 265 officials in FBiH currently hold additional functions in public institutions and enterprises. A large number of them thereby violate the still valid federal law, but there is no one to determine the conflict of interest because with the adoption of the new Law at the BiH level in 2013, this jurisdiction was taken away from the CEC. Since the new law in FBiH was never adopted, this opened enormous space for making decisions in private or party interests, including favoritism in employment, budget allocation, and public procurement. It is interesting to mention that data from TI BiH’s Integrity Watch platform shows that 20% of elected public office holders reported ownership in companies that received tenders in 2024.

TI BiH notes that the proposal submitted to the procedure is not a new text but a solution that has been prepared for many years and represents an important mechanism in the fight against corruption as well as part of reforms on the European path. The previous FBiH Government adopted the draft law in 2022, after years of preparation and consultations with relevant institutions, civil society, and international partners. The draft was then submitted to parliamentary procedure, but after the formation of the new FBiH Government in 2023, it was withdrawn “for revision.” Almost three years later, the FBiH Ministry of Justice continues to obstruct the adoption of the new Law, which it has never returned to procedure, nor are there clear indications that this will happen by the end of this mandate.

After multiple urgencies that TI BiH sent to the FBiH Government and Parliament, and general responses from institutions without clear deadlines for when the draft would be returned to procedure, TI BiH organized consultations with representatives and proposed that they use their procedural right and become proposers of the identical text that was previously withdrawn. TI BiH called on all representatives of the House of Representatives to join the initiative, with the goal that the law be the result of cross-party support. After collecting signatures, the draft law was submitted to the FBiH Parliament protocol on January 20. TI BiH calls on representatives to support and adopt this law as a clear message to citizens that public interest is above the interests of individuals and political parties. It is particularly important that the law be adopted in this mandate, considering that 2026 is an election year and that space for reform steps is rapidly narrowing.

PressRls 28.01.2026.