Bh. MPs are stepping up efforts to fight corruption

With a package of anti-corruption laws passed by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) parliament this month, authorities have stepped up efforts to fight corruption and organized crime, experts and citizens say.

The entity government has adopted five laws, two of which provide for the establishment of specialized units to fight crime and corruption.

FBiH Prime Minister Nermin Niksic said the new bodies would be similar to Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime.

“These changes represent a new chapter for the country and its judicial institutions,” Niksic said. June, at a news conference in Sarajevo following the adoption of the laws.

Anti-corruption units will be formed after the October elections in BiH.

“The judiciary and the prosecution will now work much better,” Mirsad Djonlagic, a member of the entity parliament’s European Integration Commission, told SETimes .

“This package of anti-corruption laws is different from the previous ones, because the laws have been improved. We now have a legal framework,” BiH parliament member Ismet Osmanovic told SETimes .

The implementation of the new laws will improve coordination of legal institutions in 10 FBiH cantons, as they will now have the necessary tools to prosecute crime and corruption.

“The law introduces the institute of courts for processing, which should significantly contribute to more efficient detection, clarification and proof of all forms of organized crime,” said FBiH Justice Minister Zoran Mikulic.

One of these new laws allows for the confiscation of illegally acquired property, which is described as property acquired through legally prohibited and punishable activities with criminal implications.

“When you leave criminals without funds, you hit them in the center. By applying these laws, not only will BiH fulfill its European obligations, but it will also calm down the situation in the society, which is very dissatisfied due to the high level of corruption and crime, “said Đonlagić.

“In order to implement the law, a federal agency will be established to manage confiscated goods, based in Sarajevo, and specially organized units outside the headquarters,” Sarajevo-based lawyer Nenad Petrovic told SETimes .

Following civil protests in February, there is growing pressure for government reform and anti-corruption measures.

According to Transparency International, about 35 per cent of BiH citizens said corruption had increased in the past two years, and 70 per cent said authorities were ineffective in fighting corruption.

Officials in Brussels have made it clear that the EU expects stronger efforts to prosecute corruption in BiH, stressing that citizens’ demands expressed during the February protests reflect those from the EU.

Citizens welcomed the adoption of anti-corruption laws and said reforms must continue to improve the country’s economic and social situation.

“The good thing is that we can really see some things moving forward,” Sejad Ludic, a sociology professor in Sarajevo, told SETimes . “I have no illusions that everything will start working overnight, but with time and political will to implement reforms, things can get better, for sure. After all, if the citizens do not like the pace of reforms – the elections are in October.”

“The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are demanding that politicians stop shooting and start fighting corruption and poverty. Politicians now have the opportunity to show how they listen to the voice of the people,” said High Representative to BiH Valentin Inzko.

Experts, however, say Sarajevo authorities should be vigilant when it comes to political pressure on investigative and judicial institutions, stressing that similar initiatives have been implemented in Republika Srpska (RS) but have failed.

“RS has set up a special prosecutor’s office and an agency to confiscate illegally acquired property, but those institutions have had no results and have served to protect top politicians. This should serve as an example for the FBiH. New agencies should be given full independence if we succeed. “Anti – corruption. Clear competencies and co – operation are crucial,” she told SETimes Ivana Korajlic, Transparency International spokeswoman for BiH.

Source: SETimes