Ćulum meets retirement conditions, but doesn't have to leave as long as he is SIPA Director: Are lists being made for the retirement of others?

By Amra Vrabac

Three state police agencies have a constant deficit of police officers. The most difficult situation is in the BiH Border Police, but DKPT and SIPA also have the same problem, lacking fully staffed positions. Unions have also warned about the personnel deficit, as well as the mass retirement of staff which is slowly being replenished due to long application procedures and months-long cadet training. At the beginning of this year, 1,252 police officers were missing in the three police agencies.

Therefore, the news, which unofficially originated from SIPA about the retirement of numerous staff, especially high-ranking ones, caused stormy reactions. Patria requested official information from SIPA on whether Director Darko Ćulum is making lists for the retirement of staff with 30 years of service. It should be noted here that police officers have beneficial service, so every 12 months spent in duty counts as 16 months. Thus, those police officers with 30 years of service, with this calculation, actually have 40 years of service.

The Law on Police Officers of BiH stipulates that a police officer loses their status upon reaching 65 years of age and the legally prescribed retirement period, or 40 years of retirement service.

We received clarification from SIPA that no special activity is being carried out regarding management staff and independent inspectors.

“The State Investigation and Protection Agency regularly updates data on the total retirement service of Agency employees, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 119, Paragraph (1), Point 3 of the Law on Police Officers of BiH and Article 71, Paragraph (1), Point a), Sub-point 1) of the Law on Labor in BiH Institutions, it issues decisions on the termination of employment for employees. Therefore, there is no special activity concerning management staff and independent inspectors, nor concerning officers with 30 years of service.”

Given that it has been stated for years that Darko Ćulum has more than 40 years of service, even at the time he was first appointed Director of SIPA in 2020, and his employment status was questioned in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, especially after his resignation and return to the head of SIPA and actions taken under an unconstitutional law, we requested information on whether he also meets the retirement conditions.

In the response provided by SIPA, in the shortest terms, it can be read that Ćulum does not have to retire simply because he holds the position of director. Otherwise, Ćulum's mandate expired in July 2024, and the Council of Ministers of BiH, due to political games, has never appointed a new director. Ćulum was again on the list of candidates, but the appointment of both the director and deputy director of SIPA has turned into a serious political showdown, thereby devaluing the Agency itself with 717 employees. SIPA has not had a deputy director since July 2024, and Ćulum has been reported to the BiH Prosecutor's Office for several criminal offenses, one of which is an attack on the constitutional order.

“The Director of the Agency is an appointed person who, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Law on Police Officers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Law on Independent and Supervisory Bodies of the Police Structure of BiH, is appointed by the Council of Ministers upon the proposal of the Minister of Security of BiH from the list of candidates submitted by the Independent Board. Upon the expiration of the mandate of the head and deputy head of a police body, the police officer returns to the police body in which they worked before being appointed to a position corresponding to their rank, and their employment is regulated in accordance with the valid laws. The aforementioned Laws do not provide for the possibility of mandate termination due to meeting retirement conditions,” stated SIPA, without providing precise data on Darko Ćulum's years of service.

Therefore, as long as the Council of Ministers of BiH does not make a decision to appoint a new director, Ćulum will remain at the head of SIPA, unless he leaves it again, as he did in March 2025.