US Embassy on the FBiH Criminal Code: Strengthen, not weaken, judicial institutions in BiH

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Representatives in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament at yesterday's session passed amendments to the FBiH Criminal Code, specifically Article 382 of that law which relates to influence peddling. This type of trading, if the Law is also adopted by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, would no longer be treated as a criminal offense, except in cases where a bribe is directly sought or given for influence peddling.

Amendments to this article of the Criminal Code were proposed by Elzina Pirić from the Movement for Democratic Action, led by Mirsad Kukić. The president of that party is currently on trial for this criminal offense. The amendments to Article 382 of the FBiH Criminal Code were supported by representatives from SDA, SBB, HDZ BiH, and SDP BiH. Representative Amir Zukić from SDA, as well as Asim Sarajlić, vice president of SDA and representative in the State Parliament, are also on trial for the same offense.

The amendments to the Criminal Code, as done on Tuesday in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, were also criticized by DF and Our Party, from which they announced a blockade of the adoption of the Law amendments in the House of Peoples.

From SDP, they stated today that it is still unacceptable for the mentioned legal amendments to be implemented without the active participation of the Ministry of Justice and competent judicial institutions, and called on the competent judicial institutions, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the academic community, the European Commission, and the legal department of the OHR to clearly define the character of these amendments, and to dismiss or confirm allegations that this involves alignment with EU acquis and GRECO recommendations.

Ivana Korajlić from Transparency International believes that the new amendments to the FBiH Criminal Code narrow the space for punishing criminal offenses, which is a deviation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from European practice.

From the OHR, they stated today in a comment for the Patria agency that “the OHR has not seen the mentioned amendments, so we cannot comment on them,” emphasizing that in any case they call for strengthening, not weakening, the fight against corruption.

Speaking for the Patria agency, the Public Affairs Office of the Embassy of the United States of America in BiH also stated that they have not yet had the opportunity to see the Law, calling on politicians to in any case work on strengthening judicial structures in BiH.

„It is of key importance that in the fight against corruption, politicians work on strengthening, not weakening, BiH institutions and judicial structures. Legal solutions must respect international and EU standards, and meet obligations towards the UN and maintain the role of state bodies in the fight against corruption,” stated the US Embassy in Sarajevo.