Efficiency Continues to Decline, Justice Budget Continues to Grow

(Patria) - The efficiency of the judiciary in BiH has been stagnating for the past three years, while the perception of judicial efficiency worsened last year in the eyes of both the public and judges and prosecutors. These are the key findings of the 2019 Judicial Effectiveness Index (JEI-BiH) research, conducted through USAID's MEASURE project for monitoring and evaluation.

For the fifth year in a row, USAID has been conducting research on judicial efficiency in BiH and how it is perceived by people both inside and outside the sector.

The JEI-BiH findings were compiled using three unique data sources: a survey of BiH citizens, the perception of judges and prosecutors regarding the current state of the BiH judiciary, and administrative data from the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. Interestingly, both the public and the judges and prosecutors themselves showed a decline in the perception of judicial efficiency in 2019, while, in contrast, the overall value of indicators from the HJPC's administrative data increased compared to the previous year, 2018. Administrative data, in fact, show a constant increase in the number of employees in the judiciary over the last five years, as well as a steady increase in judicial budgets from 2012 (165 million KM) to 2019 (205 million KM), representing a total increase of 24 percent. During the same period, the budgets of the Prosecutor's Offices also increased by 39 percent, from 42 million KM to 58 million KM annually.

The overall public perception of judicial efficiency in 2019 remains poor, with the processing of cases and handling of corruption-related matters among the lowest values of the Index. The values of indicators related to corruption have been low throughout all five years of the research, indicating a poor public perception of the judiciary's handling of corruption cases. In 2019, as in the previous year, a decline was recorded in most indicators related to corruption, showing further public disappointment with the judiciary's work on corruption.

Significantly, for the second year in a row, the responses from people within the sector, namely judges and prosecutors, were more negative regarding how the judiciary handles corruption cases. According to judges and prosecutors, the most negative decline over the past five years relates to the efficiency of appointing judges and prosecutors and the influence of corruption itself on the BiH judiciary.

Essentially, the efficiency of the judiciary in BiH continues to stagnate, indicating the need for improvement in all segments of the BiH judicial system's work, especially in resolving the issue of corruption as the highest priority.

"When corruption is allowed to advance, private investment stops, economic activity decreases, and business costs increase. This can increase poverty and lead to political instability. Furthermore, corruption breeds isolation and supports extremism. The executive branch must ensure full commitment from those responsible for law enforcement and the work of state agencies, primarily by reporting corruption and providing support to prosecutors in investigations," said Nancy Eslick, USAID Mission Director in BiH.

The U.S. government, through USAID and other agencies, provides essential support to BiH to help the judiciary effectively combat corruption and organized crime as key prerequisites on BiH's path to self-sustainability.