Funds approval from BiH Council of Ministers awaited to form new HJPC BiH department

(Patria) - The formation of a new department for the procedure of verifying asset reports of candidates for judicial positions depends on the approval of financial resources from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently awaited, it was stated on the first day of the regular session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH.

The President of the HJPC, Halil Lagumdžija, stated that the approval of financial resources from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is awaited in order to initiate the tender procedure for the formation of a new department that should verify the asset reports of candidates for judicial positions, Detektor reports.

- I think we will get it soon. We also received an opinion from Brussels on whether we should fill this department externally or partially internally, so we have created the prerequisites to quickly, as soon as we get approval from the Council of Ministers, proceed with the tender procedure - Lagumdžija explained.

As he said, the tender will be conducted by the Civil Service Agency, and the nominated candidates will undergo security checks. Lagumdžija states that he does not know how long this part will take, but he will send urgent requests and seek acceleration at every stage of the procedure.

Lagumdžija said that the previous integrity department had mechanisms to only record the assets of judges and prosecutors and those who gave consent, and for those assets to be published. Now, he says, it will be mandatory.

- When this department starts working, a random number of judicial office holders will be examined, I think up to ten percent per year, and where there are specific reports, those procedures will be prioritized - Lagumdžija explained.

At the last session of the HJPC, a new systematization of job positions was adopted, which, as stated at the time, practically formed the department for conducting the procedure for verifying asset reports of candidates for judicial positions, as stipulated by the Law on Amendments to the Law on the HJPC.

On the first day of the HJPC session on Wednesday, amendments to the HJPC Rules of Procedure, i.e., selection and appointment procedures, were adopted. An intervention was made in the article of the Rules of Procedure that defines the assessment of candidate suitability, stating that a candidate cannot be on the ranking list if disciplinary measures imposed on them are still in effect.

Also, the current Rules of Procedure stipulate that a conviction for a criminal offense makes a candidate unsuitable for performing judicial or prosecutorial duties. The proposal that was adopted is to delete this provision, because the new amendments to the Law stipulate that a conviction for a criminal offense for which a prison sentence can be imposed is a basis for termination of mandate, so every criminal offense should be considered.

Detektor previously published a study in which it revealed that Ivanka Stanić was promoted to the position of chief cantonal prosecutor in the Posavina Canton during her probation period and while disciplinary proceedings were pending against her.

HJPC members adopted a conclusion to proceed with an external procedure for appointments and filling the Department for Appointments, in accordance with the new amendments to the Law on the HJPC. It was stated that if certain appointments remain, they should be completed by the next session, and the issue of conducting additional checks will be delegated then.

It was also proposed that for previously initiated tender procedures, the regulation in force until the start of the application of the new Law on the HJPC should be applied.

The Council's session continues today.