Ten days of silence on Ćulum's return: Can amendments to the SIPA Law prevent a repeat of this scenario?

By Amra Vrabac

It has been ten days since Darko Ćulum returned to the State Investigation and Protection Agency after withdrawing his resignation, which he submitted on March 18.

On July 21, state deputies Šemsudin Mehmedović and Jasmin Emrić also filed a criminal complaint against Ćulum with the BiH Prosecutor's Office for several criminal offenses. However, Ćulum continues to come to work, sign documents and acts.

The Independent Board of the BiH Parliament did not have a quorum yesterday to rule on Ćulum's return to the position of director because a member from the Serb people did not attend the session.

The Council of Ministers of BiH denies responsibility in the Ćulum case, and Chairperson Borjana Krišto stated that she had completed her part of the job as soon as she put the resignation on the agenda of the Council of Ministers of BiH. It is another matter that this resignation was not considered.

Ćulum is charged with the criminal offense of association for the purpose of committing criminal offenses against the integrity of BiH, in connection with the criminal offenses of Attack on the constitutional order, Failure to comply with the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the Court of BiH, the Human Rights Chamber or the European Court of Human Rights from Article 239 of the Criminal Code of BiH, and abuse of official position and authority.

In his capacity as Director of SIPA, Ćulum refused to execute the order of the Court of BiH to deprive suspects in the attack on the constitutional order of BiH of their liberty, knowing that an attack on the constitutional order was underway and with the intention of decisively contributing to it, he became a member of the association from Article 170 of the Criminal Code of BiH, which association was founded by the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, and whose members were suspects Nenad Stevandić, Radovan Višković, as well as the leadership of the MUP RS Siniša Karan, Siniša Kostrešević, who formed an armed group composed of members of the special unit of the MUP RS with the aim of preventing authorized SIPA officials from executing the order of the Court of BiH to deprive suspects Milorad Dodik, Stevandić and Višković of their liberty, i.e., to prevent or otherwise obstruct the application, implementation or execution of such a decision of the Court of BiH, or to participate in an armed rebellion directed against the constitutional order of BiH or its highest institutions, and acted upon the request of the then suspect Milorad Dodik, who asked Serbs employed in SIPA, the Court, the Prosecutor's Office, to leave these institutions.

On March 18, Ćulum submitted his resignation from the position of Director of SIPA, stating that all his duties and rights in the said agency ceased from that day and left his workplace.

"Darko Ćulum came to the SIPA headquarters on 07/14/2025 with the intention of performing the duties of director, although he knows that he no longer has such authority or status by force of law, because according to Article 119 of the Law on Police Officers, it is established that a police officer's employment ceases and he automatically loses his status as a police officer in case he voluntarily submits his resignation, as a result of which he is unauthorizedly present in the SIPA building," the report states.

The deputies requested that the BiH Prosecutor's Office urgently submit a request to the Court of BiH to impose a pre-trial detention measure on Darko Ćulum or a prohibition measure in the form of a ban on entering the SIPA building or approaching it within 50 meters, meeting and communicating with all SIPA employees and authorized officials, and meeting and communicating with suspects Dodik, Stevandić, Višković, as well as Kostrešević and Karan.

However, the BiH Prosecutor's Office has not taken any action regarding Ćulum, even though he began acting on the orders of the RS leadership and the policy led by SNSD and Milorad Dodik as early as March 2, when they committed the criminal offense of attack on the constitutional order by passing several unconstitutional laws in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.

On March 2, Ćulum, along with several other officials from state police agencies, attended a meeting in Banja Luka.

Then, on March 7, he ordered SIPA employees in Banja Luka to leave their workplaces, after the MUP RS requested him to do so.

When he left SIPA on March 18 and immediately reported to the MUP RS, it became clear that Ćulum was participating in the political plan of the RS leadership.

While the trio suspected of attacking the constitutional order (Dodik, Stevandić, Višković), whose pre-trial detention was lifted in early July, Ćulum is a free man today.

According to Patria's information, many employees are also unclear how Ćulum has resumed his duties as director. However, they are also powerless to do anything, as it has long been clear that politics drives all processes.

In the meantime, MP Emrić proposed amendments to the SIPA Law in such a way that if the director or deputy director is unable to perform their duties or voluntarily leaves their post, the duties and responsibilities are taken over by the leading police officer of the department and units in the order established by Article 11 of the SIPA Law. The amendments even provide for the position of acting director, which has not been the case so far.

These amendments will be on the agenda of an urgent session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament on July 29. Regardless of whether they are adopted, the further path of this law depends entirely on the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, where the situation has been heated in recent months.