prijava
SARAJEVO, November 27 (FENA) - The latest affair confirms - vetting procedures are the only solution for the judiciary, stated the Transparency International (TI) in BiH on the occasion of the release of a video in which the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) Milan Tegeltija allegedly inappropriately discusses the appointment of a judge who is the sister of a member of the HJPC.
Transparency International calls on international actors to provide mechanisms and tools for a radical reform shift in the judiciary.
According to the organization, the judiciary is in a deep crisis that can only be cured by radical reform measures such as disbanding the current High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, introducing vetting procedures or reevaluation of all judges and prosecutors, and enacting a set of new regulations to ensure integrity and accountability.
“The latest affair in which the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council allegedly inappropriately discusses the appointment of a judge who is a sister of the member of the HJPC 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 the recurrence of inappropriate behaviors,” stated the TI BIH.
At the end of 2017, before the person mentioned in the video was appointed to the position of expert associate in the District Commercial Court, TIBiH received an application that the competition was a farce and that this person would be appointed because of his family ties with a HJPC member. The Banja Luka District Commercial Court refused to provide information on the tender procedure and submitted it after more than two years and two court rulings in favor of TIBiH. The documentation showed that the selected candidate was indeed the best in 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 this will be the reason why many opponents will give up the procedure, as was the case, it is said in the statement of Transparency International.
The latest findings of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United States Agency for International Development and Cooperation (USAID), as well as previous reports by the European Commission and domestic NGOs, are unique in assessing the rapidly deteriorating situation in the judiciary. Stressed the TI BiH and added that, according to the OSCE report on the judiciary's response to corruption, only one indictment was filed in high-corruption cases in 2019, while USAID concludes that prosecutors and judges themselves gave a negative assessment of their work in the fight against corruption.
According to the findings from the public perception of justice, presented at the debate of the Delegation of the European Union in BiH "Right to Justice", two thirds of citizens do not trust this branch of government. While the objective findings and public perception are in a constant 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 HJPC is part of the problem, not the solution, according to Transparency International in BiH.
Amendments to the law on this regulatory body will not change the "impunity syndrome" 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 accountability, concluded the Transparency International in BiH.
(FENA) A. B.
