PRESS RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Presentation of the Strategy and Action Plan for the Fight against Corruption in Bosnia-Podrinje Canton

Announcements ● 24 June 2015

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH), in cooperation with the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption (APIK), is organizing a presentation of the Strategy and Action Plan for the fight against corruption for the period 2015-2019 in Bosnia-Podrinje Canton.

The aim of the presentation is to make all the authorities of Bosnia-Podrinje Canton familiar with the need of establishing a coordination mechanism at the cantonal level, and to introduce individual segments of the Strategy for the fight against corruption, as well as measures of the Action plan for the implementation of the Strategy, all aimed at introducing the obligations arising from the new Strategy to all levels of cantonal government.

Representatives of executive and legislative authorities of Bosnia-Podrinje Canton, representatives of public institutions and companies, as well as representatives of media and civil society are expected to take participation at the presentation.

Presentation will be held on Thursday, 25^th June 2015, in the Assembly Hall of the Assembly of Bosnia-Podrinje Canton Gorazde, starting at 12 o’clock. The agenda is as follows.

Media announcement – 25/06/2015

Presentation of the Strategy and Action Plan for the Fight against Corruption BPC

Open letter to the Council of Ministers of BiH

Press releases ● 15 June 2015

We would like to address you regarding the fact that since November 2013, when the amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest of BiH were adopted, which envisages a new Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest, this body has not yet been fully formed.

Dear All,

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina considers it worrying that the BiH Council of Ministers has not yet adopted amendments to the Rulebook on Internal Organization of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption, which are necessary for the transfer of Central Election Commission staff. , to the office of the Agency, ie the Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest. Therefore, although members of the Commission have been appointed before the BiH Parliamentary Assembly and APIK, since the amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest were adopted, its implementation has been prevented, which has unforeseeable consequences for BiH institutions and the rule of law.

TI BiH appeals to the Council of Ministers to adopt the necessary amendments to the internal acts of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption as soon as possible and resolve the status of staff envisaged for the implementation of the Law. at the state level. This is of particular importance, given not only the importance of this law in ensuring the minimum integrity of elected and appointed officials, but also the fact that after the amendments to the law at the state level there was a stalemate in the application of relevant laws at the Federation and Brcko District. .

TI BiH also requests the Council of Ministers to submit a report to the public, explaining why the acts have not yet been adopted and why the implementation of the Law on Conflict of Interest has not been enabled. It is evident that the amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest were harmful from the beginning, starting from the politicization of the body responsible for determining conflicts of interest, to the complete delay in the implementation of laws at the level of BiH, FBiH and District. Therefore, TI BiH once again appeals to the Council of Ministers to resolve this issue either by completing the process of establishing a supporting office of the Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest, or by amending the Law again to eliminate the mentioned shortcomings.

With respect,

Open letter to the Council of Ministers

TI BiH won 14 lawsuits against institutions in 2014 years

Press releases ● 09 June 2015

During 2014, Transparency International BiH filed 32 lawsuits against public institutions for violating the Law on Freedom of Access to Information, which were mainly related to the misapplication of certain articles of the law, failure to conduct a public interest test and silence of the administration. Out of a total of 32 disputes, 14 judgments were rendered in favor of TI BiH, one dispute was lost by TI BiH, and the remaining 17 cases are still pending.

The largest number of lawsuits, 24 of them, were filed by TI BiH against public authorities for failure to submit copies of work contracts concluded during 2012. and 2013, which were required by TI BiH due to the frequent practice of institutions to circumvent employment transparency precisely through the conclusion of employment contracts.

Among the institutions sued by TI BiH for failure to submit work contracts are, among others: SIPA, Indirect Taxation Authority, Central Bank of BiH, Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs of RS, some entity and cantonal ministries, and local self-government units. It is symptomatic that in all these cases, the institutions concluded without conducting a public interest test that they could not submit copies of the contract because they would violate the Law on Personal Data Protection. Out of 24 administrative disputes, the courts resolved 10 disputes, of which TI BIH won 9 disputes. Only one dispute was lost, but in that case the procedure on the request for extraordinary review of the court decision is in progress. The remaining 14 proceedings are still pending.

One of the most recent disputes won by TI BiH was relations with the City of Banja Luka, which submitted contracts, but refused to submit the names and surnames of persons with whom contracts were concluded, with the explanation that “submission of names and surnames of persons who concluded contracts is violation of the Law on Personal Data Protection and that the submission of names and surnames of persons who concluded these contracts is irrelevant, in relation to the information on how many contracts have been concluded and how much budget funds have been allocated. TI BIH pointed out in the lawsuit that the City has a selective approach in the alleged protection of personal data, because it protects only the data of persons concluding employment contracts with the city, while for example on its official website publishes names of many persons applying for certain permits and they compete in public calls, where sometimes the names of the parents of these people are even published. The lawsuit also points out that the City concludes contracts and spends funds on behalf of citizens, which is why there is a justified public interest in submitting this information. The lawsuit of TI BIH was adopted by the verdict of the District Court in Banja Luka, and the decision of the City was annulled. The court concluded in the verdict that “by submitting the requested data, insight into the transparency of public bodies and in this case the amount of allocated budget funds for the implementation of the contract, and that the name and surname of a person does not represent personal data but social and legal identification of a natural person . ”

On the one hand, the number of lawsuits received by TI BiH against public institutions for violating the Law on Freedom of Access to Information indicates the creation of positive tendencies in court practice, but on the other hand it still shows non-transparency of institutions, their persistent disregard for legal provisions. and negligence towards public funds, because any dispute that an institution loses goes to the taxpayers. TI BiH considers that the recorded positive examples from case law are extremely important because they affirm the right to access information by teaching public authorities about the importance of publicity of their work.

Press rls – 09.06.2015..doc (more…)

The Republic Prosecutor’s Office of the RS forwarded the Bobar Bank case to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH

Press releases ● 05 June 2015

The Republic Prosecutor’s Office of the Republika Srpska informed Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) that the Chief Republic Prosecutor had delegated the Bobar Bank case to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because as stated in the letter from the Republic Prosecutor’s Office, international crime.

TI BiH previously sent a request to the Republic Prosecutor’s Office of RS to initiate a procedure for resolving conflicts of jurisdiction between the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina, which was initially charged with missing almost 10 million KM from the Bank’s vault, as well as a large number of disputed loans. which declared itself incompetent, explaining that it was not organized crime.

Given the fact that in the previous period, due to the transfer of this case between the prosecutor’s offices, no one actually dealt with investigations in the Bobar Bank case, TI BiH again sent inquiries to the Republic Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to determine whether the Republic Prosecutor’s Office conflict of jurisdiction, and whether the media allegations that the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH initiated investigative activities in this case are correct. While the Republic Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the case had been forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH refused to provide information, explaining that it would jeopardize the goals of preventing and detecting crime.

TI BiH notes that it is especially important that one of the competent prosecutor’s offices in BiH finally start acting in this case, informing the public as soon as possible about the details of the indictment, as well as the persons against whom the indictment was filed. As a reminder, even after more than half a year, thanks to the negligence of the investigative bodies, the public does not know who the people involved in the crime in Bobar Bank are and what crimes they are charged with, and the fact that the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office even considered it not organized crime. it best shows the extent of the systemic ignoring of this affair so far.

Answer of the Republic Prosecutor’s Office of RS

Response of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH

Press rls – 04 06 2015 doc

TI BiH and the Coalition of NGOs Supporting Action Planning in BiH

Announcements ● 17 May 2015

In September 24, 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina officially joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) as its 65^th member, which aim is to encourage countries around the world to enhance transparency and better governance through undertaking concrete steps in legislation and practice. After joining the OGP initiative, Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with civil society is obliged to develop an action plan that identifies priorities and activities in the area of transparent and accountable governance, citizen participation in decision-making processes, and the use of new technologies and innovation to increase the openness of government.

The theme of the conference organized by TI BiH will be processes and principles of the development of the action plan, and it will be presented the experiences from the countries in the region that have already created and started implementation of the Action Plan. Civil society organizations will present the priorities that should be included in the Action Plan of BiH, while the leading institutions within the OGP initiative should present current and planned steps in the drafting and adoption of the Action Plan for the BiH.

The Conference will be held on Monday, 18^th May 2015, at the Hotel Europe in Sarajevo (Atrium Hall), with the beginning at 10.30 a.m. The agenda is attached below. The press conference is planned to be held at 10.00 a.m.

TI BiH and the Coalition of NGOs Supporting Action Planning in BiH

Initiative for constitutional review of FYROM submitted

Press releases ● 14 May 2015

The submitters of the initiative propose to the Constitutional Court of the RS to issue a decision initiating the procedure for assessing the constitutionality of the disputed provisions of Articles 7 and 8. and 22. Law on Public Order and Peace of the Republika Srpska and made a decision that the disputed articles are not in accordance with the Constitution of the Republika Srpska, given that they represent a direct violation of the right to freedom of thought and opinion, belief, public expression and peaceful assembly and association.

The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska is 5. In February 2015, it adopted the Law on Public Order and Peace, despite strong condemnation and opposition from the domestic public, the media and civil society. The largest international organizations, from the OSCE, the European Commission, Human Rights Watch to the embassies of the USA, Great Britain and others, condemned this law, assessing that the concept of public space is too broadly defined and allows its abuse.

The need to submit this initiative is further emphasized by the fact that in a short period of time two more draft legal solutions have been submitted for adoption, which seek to restrict freedom of assembly, expression and association, and which are also in line with constitutionally guaranteed rights. Banja Luka journalists expect that the Constitutional Court, protecting the highest legal act of the RS, will accept the initiative and in the further procedure will declare the Law unconstitutional due to a series of inconsistencies with the RS Constitution.

Initiative for assessing the constitutionality and legality of the RS Law on Public Order and Peace
Press rls – May 14, 2015

A blow to the work of non-governmental organizations

Press releases ● 11 May 2015

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemns the move of the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska to adopt the Draft Law on Publicity of Non-Profit Organizations, which seeks to label and discriminate foreign-funded NGOs, without any announcement or public debate.

Namely, the disputed draft only deals with organizations whose activities and projects are financed by foreign governments and organizations and does not deal at all with organizations financed from local sources and budgets of various levels of government, which do not even have to submit reports and justify funds allocated from the budget. .

The draft law also vaguely defines political activities and political activities, thus leaving a dangerous possibility for the competent institutions to, with a broad and inadequate interpretation of the law, ban the work of organizations whose activities do not help the RS authorities.

TI BiH does not consider the need for transparency of NGO work disputable, but in this case, under the guise of transparency, it actually wants to control and limit the work of only those organizations that are not under the control of the RS authorities.

This law sends a dangerous message to citizens that NGOs are enemies of the state and is just one step in a series of years of attempts by RS authorities to restrict freedom of speech, assembly and association and stifle criticism in all ways, including totalitarian regimes. It is also absurd that the Declaration on the Compliance of this Draft Law with the EU Acquis states that the sources of EU law governing this matter have not been identified, although it is clear that the draft is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and assembly. organization, while this draft gives the Ministry of Justice the opportunity to determine which organization can operate freely and which cannot.

TI BiH, in cooperation with other civil society organizations, will use all available mechanisms to prevent the adoption of such a law or at least enable a public debate in order to eliminate its shortcomings.

Press rls – 11 May 2015 doc

Presentation of the initiative for amendments to the Law on Public Procurement

Press releases ● 10 May 2015

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Center for Investigative Reporting are organizing the Conference on Improving the Law on Public Procurement . The aim of the Conference is to present an analysis and initiative to improve the Law on Public Procurement, with a focus on increasing transparency and preventing corruption in this area.

The conference is expected to be attended by representatives of the executive and legislative branches at the state level, institutions supervising the implementation of the Law on Public Procurement – Public Procurement Agency and the Complaints Review Office, civil society organizations active in advocating for improving the legal framework in this area. .

The conference will be held in Tuesday, May 12 2015 at the Hotel Europe in Sarajevo, starting at 11.00. Press statements are scheduled before the start of the Conference at 10.45. The agenda is below.

The conference is part of the BiH Civil Society Sustainability Program (CSSP), which is financially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Embassy in BiH, in which TI BiH and CIN focus on strengthening the legal framework public procurement, conflicts of interest and property records.

You can download the agenda here Agenda 12.05.2015. Hotel Europa, Sarajevo .

TI BiH asked the Chief Republic Prosecutor to order action in the case of Bobar Bank

Press releases ● 21 April 2015

Transparency International BiH sent an open letter to the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic, Mahmut Švraca, urging him to order the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office to act in the Bobar Bank case or for the Republic Prosecutor’s Office to take over the case. The Collegium of the Special Prosecutor’s Office recently concluded that it is not within its competence to act on criminal charges which, among other things, refer to the disappearance of almost ten million marks from the bank’s vault, where public funds were deposited. Before that, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina handed over the case to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, believing that it was an organized crime, ie. on a matter that is not within their jurisdiction, which returned the case to the Bijeljina Prosecutor’s Office.

In a letter to the Republic Prosecutor Mahmut Švraci, TI BiH emphasizes that it is necessary to urgently undertake investigative actions, because it is his legal obligation to resolve a possible conflict of jurisdiction between the district prosecutor’s offices and order an investigation. Otherwise, public confidence in the political control of prosecutors will be strengthened, while over time it will become increasingly difficult to investigate the scale of the crime committed. It was especially emphasized that the explanation of the Collegium and the Chief Special Prosecutor about the incompetence of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is unconvincing, and that it is based on worrying arguments that are against the law and according to which prosecution of crimes affecting the economy and financial sector. it is not of special importance for the Republika Srpska. The decision to ignore all the circumstances of the scandal that has been shaking the public for months, explaining that the case is not within their competence, casts doubt on the legal work of this prosecutor’s office, the chief special prosecutor and all acting prosecutors, their competence and independence. TI BiH also pointed out the possibility of violating the Code of Judicial and Prosecutorial Ethics, if the Chief Special Prosecutor subordinated his call to personal interpretations of the competence of the institution he manages from motives that significantly resemble organized crime and avoiding work due to political instructions or other similar reasons.

TI BiH warned the Chief Republic Prosecutor that currently none of the investigative bodies, despite all criminal charges, including reports from the RS Banking Agency, is investigating the crime that led to the closure of Bobar Bank, causing incalculable damage to public funds, but also economic entities and numerous citizens.

Considering that in democratic societies the public has the right to inspect the work of prosecutor’s offices, especially the disputed decisions on which the initiation of investigations depends, TI BiH demands from the Chief Republic Prosecutor, who has significant and broad powers under the law, to resolve the issue of investigating the Bobar Bank case. by handing it over to the Republican prosecutors, or by ordering the special prosecutors to finally conduct an investigation.

Press rls – April 21, 2015

Open letter from TI BiH to the Chief Republic Prosecutor

The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that an expert examination of the video on the alleged purchase of MPs was not done

Press releases ● 16 April 2015

Banja Luka, April 16, 2015 – The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office informed Transparency International BiH that they did not conduct an expert examination of a recording of a conversation in which the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska allegedly buys MPs in order to form a ruling majority. At the same time, an argument was given according to which the expertise cannot be determined because the original recording was returned to the Klix.ba portal by the decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo. As a reminder, the RS Ministry of Interior in a press release 18. In November, a number of electronic media published a edited, compromising recording of a private conversation between the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, recorded with special technical, sophisticated means for audio and video recording, in which individual statements of the Prime Minister were taken out of context. and in that way a derived, seemingly real conversation was created between the Prime Minister and an unidentified person – the interlocutor. ”

TI BiH raises the question of how the RS Ministry of the Interior could have qualified the disputed recording as edited in November last year if the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the expertise of the recording was not done at all. Since the affair about the alleged purchase of deputies was opened, the investigative bodies not only did not determine the authenticity of the recording, but according to the information sent to TI BiH, they did not undertake other investigative actions that could clarify the disputed situation. Thus, the response of the Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office states that the same case was only forwarded to the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office upon Dragan Cavic’s report, which again explains in its response that the investigation was reduced to establishing the authenticity of the recording.

TI BiH believes that the Special Prosecutor’s Office cannot stop the investigation on the grounds of not having the original recording, indirectly accusing journalists who defended media freedom and the right to secrecy of sources, and that it is necessary to conduct other investigative actions to finally determine whether a crime was committed. deed and who are all responsible persons. It is important to note that this is an affair on which the legitimacy of the current government in Republika Srpska directly depends, because the cabinet of Prime Minister Cvijanović is facing extremely serious accusations that the current government was formed by giving bribes. It is in the interest of the public of Republika Srpska, but also of all its institutions, to continue the investigation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in full, as well as to make all findings of the investigation accessible and public because it is a sensitive case that attracts special attention. assessment of the legitimate establishment of a ruling majority.

Press rls 16.04.2015.
Answer Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office
Answer RS Special Prosecutor’s Office

The ruling majority in RS is covering up the Bobar Bank affair

Press releases ● 15 April 2015

Dobrila Drinić, Radmila Stojnić, Srđan Amidžić and Željka Stojičić, members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the RS National Assembly, voted yesterday against the proposal of Transparency International BiH that Slavica Injac, director of the RS Banking Agency, be invited to a public hearing before the parliamentary committee on the affair Beaver bank. The proposal was rejected with four votes against, five votes in favor, but two members of the Committee did not attend the session, so the required majority of six members was not reached.

At the same time, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of RS informed TI BiH that there are no grounds for suspicion that there is organized crime in the case of Bobar Bank, as well as that criminal acts that were possibly committed by unknown persons misappropriated 9,968,349.90 KM from the bank’s vault. committed a number of other criminal offenses, do not fall under their jurisdiction because “it could not be classified as the most serious forms of criminal offenses against the economy and payments and against official duty, where prosecution is of special importance for the Republika Srpska.” In this way, the Chief Special Prosecutor Miodrag Bajić demonstrated the worrying avoidance of responsibility, making meaningless the very purpose of the existence of the institution he heads.

With the inaction of the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office and the refusal of the ruling coalition MPs to investigate the work of Slavica Injac and the RS Banking Agency, the Republika Srpska institutions put an end to the Bobar Bank affair. The refusal of the appointed members of the RS Finance and Budget Committee to question Slavica Injac found that there was no political will of the current ruling majority in Republika Srpska to deal with organized crime, while the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office responded that the lack of political will was felt institution. In this way, despite the criminal reports of the Banking Agency on the disappearance of money from the bank’s vault, as well as numerous criminal reports of Bobar Bank employees and other citizens, none of the institutions is currently dealing with this case, which confirms suspicions that it is systemic and institutional. covering up organized crime.

TI BiH calls on the Finance and Budget Committee to reconsider, in its full composition, the initiative for a public hearing of the Director of the RS Banking Agency and to enable, at least in this way, through the control role of the legislature, to determine responsibility for bank failures and abuses. caused great losses for public institutions whose funds were entrusted to Bobar Bank.

Press rls – 15 4 2015 doc

Notice of change of address of the Office in Sarajevo

Press releases ● 13 April 2015

The Transparency International Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is from 09.04.2015. located at the new address:
Sarajevo office:

Mehmed – bega Kapetanovića Ljubušaka 4,
71000 Sarajevo

All previous contact details, except the address, remain unchanged.

The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office refused to act on criminal charges in the Bobar Bank case

Press releases ● 03 April 2015

Banja Luka, 03. April 2015 – Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) received a letter from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina concluding that no one has been charged with criminal charges filed by the RS Banking Agency against unknown persons for abuse of office and authority in Bobar Bank proceeds even though the applications were forwarded in December 2014. .

Namely, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina informed TI BiH that they forwarded all the documentation to the RS MUP – Criminal Police Directorate – Unit for Suppression of Economic Crime, Financial Investigation and Money Laundering, but that they have not acted on it yet. We were also informed in the same letter that there are indications that this is an organized crime, and that is why the case was forwarded to the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republika Srpska, which by an act of March 13, 2015. “The decision of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for organized crime and corruption, is absolutely unclear, given that the Agency’s report referred to a large number of disputed loans signed by one person and used by another, and the disappearance of almost 10 million KM from the vault of Bobar Bank. Such crimes can in no way be viewed as the work of a lonely individual, but are very obviously classified as organized crime.

This only confirmed the claims of TI BiH that in the case of Bobar Bank there is organized evasion of responsibility of competent institutions which now refuse to act on criminal charges, although the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina confirmed that there are indications of organized crime. banks. The submitted letter from the Bijeljina Prosecutor’s Office shows the repeated practice of institutions to transfer responsibility and competencies to each other, which ultimately resulted in inaction.

Transparency International BiH believes that the latest information that none of the competent investigative bodies is currently determining responsibility in the Bobar Bank case further obliges MPs and members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the RS National Assembly to question Slavica Injac, director of the RS Banking Agency. It will turn out that despite all the indications of organized crime, responsible for the collapse of Bobar Bank, no one has even tried to establish responsibility in this case.
Press rls – 3 4 2015 doc
Answer Bijeljina District Prosecutor’s Office

TI BiH invites NARS Finance and Budget Committee to publicly hear Slavica Injac over Bobar Bank affair

Press releases ● 02 April 2015

Transparency International BiH (TI BiH) sent a request to the members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to propose a public hearing of the director of the RS Banking Agency, Slavica Injac, before this committee to determine responsibility in the Bobar Bank affair. As the Banking Agency, as the supervisory body of the financial system, is directly responsible for its work to the National Assembly, TI BiH emphasized that members of the Finance and Budget Committee should use the legally prescribed opportunity to invite Injac to a public hearing. interest and to understand the control, but also the democratic role of the legislature.

TI BiH reminds that Injac openly told the citizens, among other things, that they should control the work of banks, as well as that the Agency headed by her refused to provide the Final Report of the interim manager of Bobar Bank, and that citizens do not have any information about closures. Beaver Bank and the actions of the Agency in this case.

Public hearings and the formation of inquiry committees are a very common practice in democratic societies in situations where it is necessary to resolve a political affair of particular importance. The obvious damage caused by the closure of Bobar Bank and the suspicions created in the work of supervisory bodies, but also in the purposefulness of their existence, require the use of all available political means in order to determine responsibility. From the moment when the interim administration procedure was opened against Bobar banka ad Bijeljina, Injac’s irresponsible actions, unbalanced statements and persistent hiding of data from the public increased doubts about the legality of the RS Banking Agency, its personal competence, but also about concealing illegalities.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the RS, it is necessary for one of the members to submit a proposal for a public hearing, and then to be supported by the majority of Committee members in order to hold a public hearing before the Committee. TI BiH proposes to provide a live broadcast of the public hearing of Slavica Injac, but also to enable the presence of as many representatives of civil society as possible at the hearing, so that the public finally gets an insight into the actions of the Agency.

If the Committee on Finance and Budget ignores the call of TI BiH, the absolute disinterest of legislators to supervise the work of public institutions and ensure the responsibility of their leaders towards citizens will be shown again.

Press rls – 2 4 2015 doc

TI BiH is Organizing Conference on Financing of Election Campaign

Announcements ● 29 March 2015

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) is organizing regional conference on Financing of Political Parties- Law and Practice. The conference is dedicated to transparency of financing of political parties and election campaigns and to comparison of experiences in this are from the region and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the conference, it will be presented the reports on 2014 General Election Campaign in BiH, and the results of the monitoring of the election campaign will be compared with the financial statement which political parties submitted to Central Election Commission. It will be discussed about recommendations for improvement of the legal framework with the aim of ensuring greater transparency of election campaigns and to prevent the abuse of public resources for campaigning.

Representatives of legislative and executive branches in BiH, political parties, Central Election Commission of BiH, civil society and the media from BiH, as well as representatives of Anti-Corruption Agency Serbia and organizations from the region that deal with monitoring of campaign financing are expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will be held on 30^th March 2015, with the beginning at 10.00 a.m. at the Hotel Europa in Sarajevo.

Request the extradition of Mile Radisic

Press releases ● 26 March 2015

Banja Luka, 26. March 2015 – Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on the competent institutions to request the extradition of Mile Radisic from Serbia on the basis of the Extradition Treaty between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia. March.

Namely, the Agreement on Extradition between BiH and Serbia, which was ratified in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH last year, clearly states that BiH has the right to request the extradition of its citizens in order to serve a final prison sentence of at least four months. On the other hand, even taking into account the possible citizenship of Serbia that Radisic has, according to this Agreement, Serbia can extradite its citizens if they are sentenced to imprisonment for more than two .

Bearing in mind that Mile Radisic made it clear in his statements to the media that he was in Serbia, and that BiH and Serbia have an agreement on extradition, TI BiH sees no obstacles before the competent institutions to request extradition.

Otherwise, the institutions of the Republika Srpska will show that final verdicts do not mean the obligation to serve a sentence, and that individuals are free to avoid imprisonment, while setting ultimatums to the judiciary. Bearing in mind that the institutions have already proved incapable of keeping a person scheduled to serve a prison sentence in the country, unless extradition proceedings are initiated soon, and it will be publicly proven that power and ties to the government mean amnesty from any sanctions for criminal offenses, and that the top of the government protects legally convicted persons.

Press rls – 26 3 2015 doc