House of Peoples of BiH PS: Law on HJPC not adopted in the first reading

(Patria) - The House of Peoples of BiH PS discussed the Bill on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (first reading) proposed by the Council of Ministers of BiH, under an abbreviated procedure.

Delegate Džemal Smajić stated that suggestions had been received from the Venice Commission and the HJPC, but they were not taken into account.

"At first, I thought it was due to the ignorance of the Minister of Justice, but after it was rejected to be included in the draft, it is quite clear that it is due to the unwillingness of the minister and that it was sent to the Council of Ministers in this form. We also know the competencies of the ministers who made the decisions. The question remains why this law was first sent to the House of Representatives, and then to us in the House of Peoples. This law does not have the elements of European law. This law cannot bear the EI mark in any way, and given that this law is one of the prerequisites and we are in a hurry, it was sent into procedure in such a distorted form. Minister Bunoza, you and the other ministers bear responsibility for the delay that will be extended towards opening negotiations with the EU. It would be shameful for such a law to be adopted and sent to the European Commission, and for us to be for such a law," said Smajić.

He stated that this law was not prepared and that Minister Bunoza showed no willingness to adopt the suggestions of the Venice Commission and the HJPC.

"You ministers did not wait for the response of the Venice Commission, but sent it into parliamentary procedure, you know why," said Smajić.

Delegate Zlatko Miletić stated that the so-called "European laws" serve as a cover for our desire to join the European Union.

"We hide our inaction with a superficial attempt to join such an association as the EU. After the first amendments concerning the issue of integrity, we had more than a year to implement what we had adopted. I will read a part from the Opinion of the Venice Commission: We were informed that the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the law and the Venice Commission did not have the opportunity to familiarize itself with the text of the law. I think the suggestions should have been incorporated into the text. You received an act from the HJPC containing 41 amendments to the proposal of this text, and I think we made a conceptual mistake with this law. Experts should have been consulted on it, not politicians. When we were improving this issue related to the integrity of judges and prosecutors, the issue of what those prosecutors and judges are doing is equally important to me, and that we assess their work capacity. As long as these remarks are not incorporated into this document, I will be against it," said Miletić.

Sredoje Nović, delegate of SNSD, stated that the existing Law on HJPC was also imposed and functions.

"Regarding the remarks from the HJPC, there are indeed many. But how is it possible that they participated in the working group and now, after the law has been drafted, about forty remarks are arriving. The OSCE also has remarks now, and I know how much was discussed with the OSCE and we got the green light. Now, afterwards, it's not possible. We should try to act with amendments or try to save this law in the regular procedure. If we can't do that, then it's something else, but I wouldn't belittle those who worked on this document," said Nović.

Delegate Nenad Vuković stated that the Government of RS, i.e., the Ministry of Justice of RS, delegated members to the working group.

"What about the fact that the National Assembly of RS adopted its own Law on HJPC? Is that law in force in Republika Srpska? Or is this some return to the story called the European path. I asked the secretary of the Ministry of Justice of BiH if he was informed that the National Assembly of RS adopted the Law on HJPC, he told me that he never was. Who founded SIPA? I just want to point out the inconsistency in your policy. If someone thinks that these laws can pass or be pushed through, it doesn't work that way. That's why deadlines like April, May, and June pass. Only a new parliamentary majority can enable that. What is being done today and how it passed through the Council of Ministers is a way for it not to pass," said Vuković.

The Minister of Justice of BiH, Davor Bunoza, stated that the goal of the law was to create an independent judiciary, and that most of the HJPC's amendments related to reducing integrity.

"Politics will directly elect two members from the 20 members of the HJPC. We increased the number of HJPC members. Ethnic quotas are often mentioned. We prescribed minimum quotas. Did we have the opinion of the Venice Commission in March? Yes. Who worked on this law? This is not my proposed law. We requested the opinion of the Venice Commission and in March we received the opinion and incorporated what could be incorporated. We did not succeed in ensuring the constitutional position of the HJPC. We did not succeed in increasing the number of lay members in the HJPC. But I still believe that this law is good. Who benefits from our judiciary? In other countries, the Minister of Justice has the role of a prosecutor; in Belgium, 22 out of 44 HJPC members are politicians. When I ask the Venice Commission about this, they don't answer. The only law that received a green light in its entirety is the Law on the Court. We analyze this in the Ministry of Justice. This law prescribes greater independence of the judiciary, that judges will have qualified votes when a judge is elected. According to this law, the court president will no longer evaluate a judge, but a special commission. There will be no more consecutive mandates," said Bunoza.

The minister confirmed that a Department for Integrity should be formed this month, and that security checks and the budget had been hindering them.

The Bill on HJPC did not receive support because seven delegates voted for it and eight against.

The next item on the agenda was supposed to be the Law on the Court of BiH, and the proposer Marina Pendeš suggested that the law be considered in the regular procedure.

After that, the Speaker of the House, Nikola Špirić, stated that at the request of a member of the Collegium, he was adjourning the session, which would continue next week.

Incidentally, a meeting of HDZ BiH and the Troika is scheduled for 3 PM in Konjic, which is likely the reason for the adjournment of this session.