A new way of selecting members of the HJPC

“ The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) urgently adopts measures to address the problems identified in the relevant reports on the state of the judiciary prepared by the EU, other international institutions and civil society organizations” is the main message of the conference “Judiciary in BiH: Status and Perspectives” held today in Sarajevo by Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH).

The conference presented an analysis of the situation in the BH judiciary, prepared in cooperation with TI BiH by legal expert and judge of the Court of BiH Branko Perić, which showed that the key problems are “lack of interest of the authorities in stabilizing the system and obvious penetration of politics into the judiciary through the levers in the HJPC “. The analysis also contains recommendations for improving the justice system, as well as improving the accountability and integrity of judicial office holders. Among other things, the recommendations refer to steps in the reform process that would include the adoption of a new law on the HJPC that would define the criteria for selecting members of the regulatory body, as well as interventions in procedural legislation and the organization of the judiciary. Also, the importance of clear and precise regulation of the responsibilities of members of regulatory bodies in the judiciary is emphasized, in order to sanction improper, inefficient and biased performance of duties of members of that body. Taking into account all relevant reports and assessments on corruption in the judiciary, TI BiH proposed a comprehensive re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors, following the example of the method implemented in Albania. Such a reform measure would involve the introduction of temporary and specialized regulatory evaluation bodies, composed of independent non-judicial legal experts, with the participation of international experts. Through several instances, in addition to the right to appeal, they should check all judges and prosecutors as follows: 1) verification of competencies; 2) checking personal backgrounds and connections with organized crime and 3) checking property.

Also, the results of monitoring the prosecution of corruption crimes for 2018 were presented at the conference. year, as well as the first 6 months of 2019. prepared by TI BiH, and OSCE and BIRN reports on monitoring the processing of corruption cases. According to the findings of TI BiH, all resolved investigations into corruption offenses in the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH during the first 6 months of 2019. were resolved by issuing an Order suspending the investigation, and The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in the first 6 months of 2019 did not file a single indictment for corruption offenses.

A conference on the situation in the BH judiciary was held on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day, with the support of the Swedish Development Agency SIDA. The conference was attended by some of the most eminent legal experts from the country, and was attended by representatives of the HJPC, the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor, representatives of courts and prosecutors’ offices, and representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, media and academia.