prijava
SARAJEVO, January 25 (FENA) - Chairperson of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH) Sanela Gorušanović-Butigan said today that she believes in the BiH judiciary and that despite the bad image it currently has in public, it is possible to make positive changes.
At the same time, she pointed out the resoluteness in determining the accountability of the holders of judicial functions who, through their own work or lack thereof, contributed to the current situation in the judiciary, expressing the expectation that the HJPC, after the adequate staffing and the appointment of the new leadership (Presidency of the Council), will be able to overcome the current problems, which have led to extremely negative public perception.
Testifying before the Ad Hoc Inquiry Commission of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (BiH PA) to determine the situation in the judicial institutions of BiH, Gorušanović-Butigan emphasized the importance of achieving full transparency in the work of the Council and good cooperation with all judicial institutions and executive and legislative bodies, as well as civil society organizations.
She is of the opinion that reforms in all segments concerning the accountability, independence, professionalism, and integrity of judicial staff are necessary, recalling that the HJPC has drawn up a reform program for the period 2021-2023, which, among other things, focuses on achieving efficiency and the fight against corruption.
Responding to the numerous questions from members of the Commission, Gorušanović-Butigan stated that the expected results have been missing and that it was necessary to insist on more efficient work in the given conditions, but also on amendments to the existing legislation, primarily the Law on HJPC BiH, including areas of appointment, conflicts of interest of the HJPC members, filings on the property of judges and prosecutors, etc.
The testimony focused on the application of CMS software in the context of cases assignment, and especially the fact that the system is not applied in this manner in the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. Members of the Commission also underlined the lack of prosecution of crimes of corruption and have urged Gorušanović-Butigan to determine the reasons for such (non)action within the Council.
She assessed that the CMS system is a great achievement, which enables even distribution/allocation of cases and other relevant data, stating that the issue will be opened at the HJPC session and that it will be discussed in direct talks with those directly responsible.
Chairman of the Inquiry Commission, Damir Arnaut, said after the session that the CMS system and its optimal application would continue to be in focus, recalling that earlier testimonies (Judge Tabaković's testimony) highlighted the misuses of the system in the Brčko District and that the State Prosecutor's Office is the only prosecutor's office that does not apply this system at all when assigning cases.
As announced today, the Minister of Justice of BiH, Josip Grubeša, was supposed to testify before the Commission, but he did not appear with the explanation that it was not possible for him to do so due to urgent obligations, so his hearing was postponed for the next session on February 2.
The Inquiry Commission also adopted a conclusion authorizing Chairman Damir Arnaut to directly contact the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Zoran Tegeltija, for his testimony before that commission.
Also, the Commission adopted a conclusion to ask the members of the HJPC Berina Alihodžić and Biljana Simeunović to testify before this legislative body at one of the next sessions.
(FENA) S. R.
