TI BiH: The latest affair confirms – vetting procedures are the only solution for the judiciary

The judiciary is in a deep crisis that can only be cured by radical reform measures such as disbanding the current HJPC, introducing vetting procedures or re-evaluating all judges and prosecutors, and enacting a set of new regulations to ensure integrity and accountability.

Banja Luka, 27. November 2020 – Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) calls on international actors to provide mechanisms and resources for a radical reform shift in the judiciary. The latest affair in which the president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) allegedly inappropriately discusses the appointment of a judge who is a sister of a HJPC member will further undermine the trust of citizens because these allegations will not be investigated. Disciplinary commissions, composed of members of the HJPC, have previously taken the position that the president of the HJPC cannot bear disciplinary responsibility because he takes actions in the capacity of the president of the Council, and not a judge. Impunity leads to repeated examples of inappropriate behavior.

At the end of 2017, TI BiH year, before the person mentioned in the video was appointed to the position of expert associate in the District Commercial Court, received an application that the competition is a farce and that this person will be appointed because of his family ties with a member of the HJPC. The District Commercial Court in Banja Luka refused to provide information on the tender procedure, and submitted it after more than two years and two court judgments in favor of TI BiH. The documentation showed that the chosen candidate was indeed the best on the written test, but the application, in which her appointment was announced, pointed out that the written test was the biggest corruption risk. And that will be the reason why many opponents will give up the procedure, as was the case.

The latest findings of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United States Agency for International Development and Cooperation (USAID), but also previous reports from the European Commission and domestic NGOs are united in assessing that the situation in the judiciary is rapidly deteriorating. According to an OSCE report on the judiciary’s response to corruption, only one indictment was filed in high-corruption cases in 2019. USAID concludes that prosecutors and judges themselves have given a negative assessment to their work in the fight against corruption. According to the findings from the public perception of justice, which were presented at the debate of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH “Right to Justice”, two thirds of citizens do not trust this branch of government. While objective findings and public perceptions are on a steady downward trajectory, administrative data show an increase in the number of employees in courts and prosecutor’s offices in the last five years, as well as an increase in court and prosecutorial budgets by as much as 24% and 39%.

The current legislative and institutional framework is unable to ensure the integrity and necessary reform processes. The VSTS is part of the problem, not the solution. Amendments to the law on this regulatory body will not change the “syndrome of impunity” of perpetrators of high-level corruption reported by the OSCE, or eradicate corruption in the appointment of judges and prosecutors. The judiciary is in a deep crisis that can only be cured by radical reform measures such as disbanding the current HJPC, introducing vetting procedures or re-evaluating all judges and prosecutors modeled on Albania, and enacting a set of new regulations to ensure integrity and responsibility.

TI BiH calls on international and domestic actors to define new mechanisms that will ensure integrity and accountability in the judiciary. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs the support of international experts and partners, as well as domestic experts who have not been part of the judiciary for several years, but also the establishment of a temporary regulator in the justice sector to replace the current HJPC, which has lost all credibility.

Press rls-27.11.2020

District Commercial Court Banja Luka-Judgment 1

O. COURT OF JUSTICE JUDGMENT 2