Address by civil society organizations from BiH on the preparation of a report on the situation in the judiciary

Dear All,

Civil society organizations strongly support the European Commission’s (EC) efforts to improve the judiciary. In this regard, we consider it important and useful to prepare a special report on the state of the judiciary that would identify potential directions and priorities for future reform processes. Civil society organizations also share the EC’s position in a number of documents, such as the strategic document “Credible Enlargement Perspective and Enhanced EU Engagement with the Western Balkans”, the EC’s opinion on BiH’s EU accession application. influence and control over the judiciary.

Potential solutions to the problem of captivity of the judiciary must take into account the depth and scale of this problem, as well as its devastating consequences. In this sense, civil society organizations are convinced that a comprehensive and detailed procedure of vetting all judicial office holders in the country is a necessary step in the process of judicial reform. Such a reform effort would involve the introduction of temporary and specialized bodies, composed of independent legal experts, with the participation of international experts. Through several instances, in addition to the right to appeal to judges and prosecutors, they should check all judges and prosecutors as follows: 1) verification of competencies; 2) checking personal backgrounds and links to organized crime / corruption and 3) checking property.

In considering similar models, the Venice Commission (GC) justified such a radical approach by being critical of the situation in these countries, having in mind the degree and manifestations of corruption. The EC did not find vetting procedures incompatible with the European Convention, constitutional guarantees of judicial independence, or undesirable from the point of view of good practice. Therefore, we believe that the critical state of the judiciary, and the failures of reform efforts so far, require such a reform measure, which will lead to the creation of preconditions for the establishment of the judiciary that will operate on the principles of responsibility, independence and transparency.

With respect,

Signatory organizations:

OPEN SOCIETY FUND BIH

Executive Director Dobrila Govedarica

CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Director Leila Bičakčić

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL IN BIH

Chairman of the Management Board Srdjan Blagovcanin

SARAJEVO OPEN CENTER (SOC)

Executive Director Emina Bošnjak

HELSINKI PARLIAMENT OF CITIZENS OF BANJA LUKA

Executive director Dragana Dardić

UG WHY NOT

President Darko Brkan

CENTERS OF CIVIL INITIATIVES

Zlatan Ohranovic

YOUR RIGHTS

Director Emir Prcanović

CENTER FOR ELECTIVE STUDIES

President Adnan Huskić

CENTER FOR MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS

Director Eldin Karić

ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVES ASSOCIATION NETWORK BUILDING NETWORKS

Director Snježana Ivandić Ninković

CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Representative for BiH Ena Bavčić

UDRUGA FUTURA MOSTAR

President of the Association Marin Bago

INITIATIVE AND CIVIL ACTION

Director Vesna Vukmanić

HELSINKI COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Manager Aleksandra Letić

You can also read the letter at the link Addressing CSOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina on the occasion of the report on the situation in law …