CSS: Neither the Government nor the Parliament of FBiH is in a Hurry to Fight Corruption

(Patria) - In the heat of the struggle to win power at the level of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), we witnessed
fervent outbursts of dissatisfaction from then-candidates regarding the previous government's fight against corruption. Following such rhetoric, they likely gained the trust of voters to take the helm of FBiH governance in their current capacity. From declarative support for the fight against corruption at the FBiH level, little progress has been made in practice, according to the Center for Security Studies.

"The Federal Parliament, for more than a year since its establishment, has not appointed the Commission for the Prevention of Conflict of Interest, so there is still no body to work on cases of determining conflict of interest. As is known, this commission has not been appointed since 2013, so since the adoption of the state law on conflict of interest at the FBiH level, a chaotic situation has prevailed, which, judging by real indicators, suits the current ruling structure. Certain steps are being taken towards establishing a 'federal USKOK' or special departments of the prosecutor's office and court for fighting corruption, but this process is also moving quite slowly.

Apart from determining the location and the competition procedure for selecting prosecutors and judges (which, however, has been challenged by the court and it is uncertain whether it will be completed or whether the procedure will need to be repeated), it is questionable when this institution will become operational. Especially, when and in how many years the first results of its work could be expected," they state.

They remind that the Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in FBiH Government Bodies, which the previous government submitted to the parliamentary procedure in August 2022, has been withdrawn from the procedure, and there are no indications when this or an amended law could be back in Parliament.

"The state law has been adopted and its provisions are slowly beginning to be implemented, and the working version of the new state Strategy for the Fight against Corruption and the accompanying Action Plan is in its final phase. Other levels of government, such as the Republika Srpska and Brčko District, also have legal norms that prevent conflict of interest, so the
FBiH is the only level of government that does not have a body to which conflict of interest can be reported.

The justified question arises whether the government in FBiH, which declaratively leads in imposing European standards and meeting EU conditions, is deliberately obstructing the implementation of measures for an effective fight against corruption and conflict of interest until the completion of the procedure for selecting party cadres for the remaining positions. The same question arises regarding the obligation of the federal authorities to establish close cooperation and coordination with civil society organizations in the fight against corruption, which stems from the 2021 Action Plan for the Fight against Corruption, and which has so far remained only a dead letter on paper and in the activities of the new government," conclude from the CSS.