TI BIH: The proposed laws give the appearance of reforms, while avoiding the introduction of real accountability and transparency

Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) warns that the laws adopted in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, with which the government at the state level claims to fulfill priorities in the process of EU integration, still do not allow full transparency and accountability of institutions and holders of judicial functions. The Law on Amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) still did not fundamentally resolve the issue of potential concealment of property by holders of judicial functions, while the Law on Freedom of Access to Information is, in some segments, worse than the existing one and will additionally enable institutions to hide information of public interest.

It should be recalled that the essence of the reforms that BiH committed to through the 14 priorities was the strengthening of the rule of law and the fight against corruption, where the key reform was the one on judiciary, the adoption and implementation of the law on the protection of whistleblowers and conflicts of interest, and showing concrete results in terms of investigations, indictments and verdicts for criminal acts of corruption, especially those at a high level. However, there is less and less talk about key reform laws, while the government at the state level claims to demonstrate progress on the European path through the adoption of the Law on the Organization of the Wine Market, the Law on Foreigners and the two aforementioned “reform laws” that will be considered on August 30, under an urgent procedure at the House of Peoples, and which still have not met the relevant recommendations.

In particular, the Law on the HJPC did not include all the recommendations of the EU and the Venice Commission and did not resolve the issue of conflicts of interest among the members of the Council, which was particularly evident in the changes that were included in the session of the Council of Ministers. Despite the fact that two amendments were adopted by the House of Representatives, holders of judicial positions will be able not to declare the property of close relatives (e.g. children) who do not live in the same household and there is also the possibility that those for whom there is an obligation to submit property data refuse to do so, which opens up additional space for circumventing the provisions on property declaration. There is also the possibility that institutions at other levels of government block the exchange of data on property records, which can further complicate and make senseless the procedures for checking property records. Adequate sanctions have not been prescribed in situations of conflict of interest or when holders of judicial positions provide false information in property records.

On the other hand, civil society organizations have been warning since 2021 that the proposed Law on Freedom of Access to Information prescribes a wide range of exceptions to the obligation to provide information, which is even wider than the existing one, and does not provide independence in handling complaints in cases of violations of the Law. TI BiH, as an organization that annually submits over 2000 requests for freedom of access to information and is familiar with the practice of the institutions, warns that these provisions will further worsen the situation and leave the authorities with even more room to hide information of public interest. European Union and other relevant institutions also raised warning on this issue, but the recommendations were ignored.

TI BiH therefore calls again to take advantage of the opportunity to improve the proposed laws and their amendments, and amend the controversial provisions. Otherwise, the adoption of inadequate or truncated solutions that may call into question the purpose of the laws themselves, confirm that the government’s intention is only to show the appearance of progress on the European path, while avoiding the essence of implementing the reforms that are necessary to establish a minimum of responsibility and the rule of law in BIH.