ONE NAME WAS CONTROVERSIAL: Ministry of Security of BiH requested new proposals for members of the Committee for Appeals of Police Officers

(Patria) - The Ministry of Security of BiH requested from three police agencies and two other ministries to urgently submit new proposals for members of the Committee for Appeals of Police Officers after the ministers from the "Trojka" (Three parties coalition) and the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Sevlid Hurtić, voted against the proposal that was on the agenda of the BiH Council of Ministers session on December 16.

Since then, there has been no Appeals Committee deciding on the appeals of police officers at the BiH level.

It has been confirmed to Patria from multiple sources that the proposal from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, which nominated Ado Hasečić, was not acceptable to the "Trojka" and Hurtić. Otherwise, out of seven members, five must be lawyers. Although the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies was supposed to have two members in this composition of the Committee, it will have only one police officer due to a lack of lawyers.

The Ministry of Justice proposed Boris Jukić, Ljubiša Pandurević was chosen from SIPA, and this will be his third term on the Committee. Both proposed candidates from the Serb and Croat nations will join from the BiH Border Police, a Bosniak from the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies, while the Ministry of Security of BiH proposed Ermin Pešta, who is expected to be the president of the Committee for Appeals of Police Officers.

Regardless of the fact that the previous proposal did not receive support, police agencies can propose the same names, and a new name is expected from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, regarding which there was no agreement.

Due to the absence of the Appeals Committee, processes such as promotions, disciplinary proceedings, or other decisions subject to appeal have been halted. The Committee for Appeals of Police Officers decides on appeals within 30 days of receiving the appeal, except for appeals against decisions on suspension, which are decided within three days.

Decisions of the Committee for Appeals of Police Officers are final and must be implemented without delay, although they can be subject to judicial review in accordance with the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are delivered within eight days of their adoption.

According to the minutes of the BiH Council of Ministers session held on December 16, there were two rounds of voting, and in the second round of voting with five votes FOR (Chairperson of the Council of Ministers; Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations; Minister of Justice; Minister of Civil Affairs; Deputy Minister of Security) and four votes AGAINST (Minister of Defence; Minister of Foreign Affairs; Minister for Human Rights and Refugees; Minister of Communications and Transport), the Council of Ministers did not adopt the Decision on the Appointment of Members of the Committee for Appeals of Police Officers, given that no Bosniak voted.

Considering the importance of this Committee and the processes within police agencies, all institutions are obliged to submit names as soon as possible so that the Ministry of Security of BiH can resubmit the proposal to the BiH Council of Ministers for voting.