Effect of the Anti-Corruption Strategy in BiH: Corruption Even More Present in All Areas

(Patria) - After five years of implementing the Anti-Corruption Strategy (2015-2019) and its accompanying Action Plan, Bosnia and Herzegovina has regressed in this area according to all relevant international parameters, which show that corruption is even more present today. A review of the Strategy's implementation, prepared by Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH), shows that only 30 percent of the planned activities from the action plan were carried out, and the final effect is almost non-existent, as BiH has taken several steps backward in the field of anti-corruption.

The latest data published by Transparency International show that during the implementation period of the strategy, BiH fell 35 places in the world on the Corruption Perceptions Index, with the main reasons being political control over the judiciary, manipulation of the electoral process, and human rights violations.

Similar findings are shown by the World Bank Institute's governance indicators, which, among other parameters, track corruption control. During the implementation period of the Strategy, BiH not only failed to make any progress but also recorded a very pronounced decline in the score by nearly 20 percentage points.

The Strategy defined five strategic goals, the first of which was the establishment and strengthening of institutional capacities (17 out of 50 planned activities fully implemented). Paradoxically, some anti-corruption bodies were only formed in the last year of the strategy's implementation. Within this framework, transparent and measurable criteria for employment in public service were supposed to be established, as well as a reduction of political influence on the overall work of the public sector, but no progress was made in this area.

The second goal of the strategy was to develop, promote, and implement anti-corruption activities in the public and private sectors (19 out of 74 activities fully implemented). Progress was lacking in improving numerous laws that currently hinder the fight against corruption, such as laws regulating conflict of interest, public procurement, political party financing, protection of whistleblowers at the level of the Federation of BiH, as well as the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, with the aim of improving accountability and integrity mechanisms for holders of judicial functions.

The third and perhaps most important goal of the Strategy was to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of judicial institutions, where only 14 out of 41 planned activities were fully implemented. According to all international assessments, the situation has further deteriorated, as concluded, among other things, in an OSCE report stating that there is a “syndrome of impunity for corruption” in BiH. The goal of the strategy was to improve the integrity of judicial institutions and establish new channels for reporting corruption, but numerous scandals that have hit the BiH judiciary in the past period have further undermined its integrity and public trust, while numerous court proceedings against whistleblowers have discouraged citizens from reporting corruption.

TI BiH continuously monitored the processing of corruption cases in BiH, and the dismal results of the work are best illustrated by the fact that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH filed only one indictment for corruption in 2019, in which the defendant was ultimately acquitted, and 67.8% of all corruption verdicts in BiH ended with a suspended sentence.

This data clearly shows that the authorities did not recognize the key problem in defining the fourth goal of the strategy: raising public awareness and promoting the need for the participation of the entire society in the fight against corruption, where 7 out of 45 planned activities were fully implemented. All relevant research shows that citizens' awareness exists, but not trust in law enforcement institutions, both due to poor results in implementing the existing legal framework and the lack of protection mechanisms for whistleblowers.

The fifth goal of the strategy was to establish effective mechanisms for coordinating the fight against corruption, where the largest number of activities (12 out of 16 planned) within this strategic goal were implemented, in terms of adopting strategies and plans, training programs, etc. However, the purpose of this approach is quite questionable, as the European Commission report states that “the fragmentation of strategies and action plans at different levels of government means they have a very limited effect in the fight against corruption.”

In that European Commission report, “lack of progress” is noted regarding the area of anti-corruption in BiH, and this is also confirmed by the GRECO report, which states that BiH has not recorded significant steps in aligning its legal framework with international standards, especially in the area of transparency of political party financing. TI BiH has long proposed improvements to numerous regulations that currently hinder the fight against corruption, such as the Law on Financing Political Parties, the Election Law, the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest, and the Law on Public Procurement. However, due to a lack of political will, the adoption of these laws is prevented by various obstructions at all levels of government.