Emrić: It is unacceptable to strip or reduce the jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina

(Patria) - Analyzing the Draft Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Draft Law) which the Ministry of Justice submitted and proposed to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for consideration and adoption on the 11th of this month, and comparing the provisions prescribing the criminal jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the provisions of the current Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is completely clear that the proposer, i.e., the parties of the current government at the state level, the "Trojka-HDZ-SNSD" coalition which harmonized it, intend to significantly reduce and territorially limit the existing and current jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the Draft Law, in Chapter I – Jurisdiction of the Court, Article 16 (Criminal Jurisdiction), the jurisdiction prescribed in the current Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Article 7, paragraph (2), point b) has been removed.

This specifically means that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, if the ruling parties at the state level were to adopt such a proposal, would not be competent for criminal offenses in the area of commercial, economic and financial crime, which were entirely committed on the territory of one of the entities or the Brčko District of BiH.

Given that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently conducted and concluded a well-known affair called "Respirators", if the reduction of jurisdiction as proposed by this Draft Law were to occur, in the future that court would no longer be competent for similar affairs and cases, but they would be conducted and concluded in the courts of one of the entities or the Brčko District of BiH, depending on the territory where those criminal offenses were committed.

Who is the advocate and the client for reducing and limiting the jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this way for all possible future affairs and prosecutions of criminal offenses from the time of the coronavirus is not difficult to recognize.

From the new text of the Draft Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the jurisdictions prescribed by the current Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Article 7, paragraph (3), points a) and b) have also been removed. If the ruling parties at the state level, the "Trojka-HDZ-SNSD" coalition, were to adopt such a proposal to reduce the current jurisdiction, then the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be competent to provide a final and legally binding opinion regarding the implementation of the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina and international treaties at the request of any entity court or any court of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Furthermore, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina would no longer be competent to issue practical guidelines for the application of the substantive criminal law of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Court's jurisdiction regarding the criminal offenses of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and violations of the laws and customs of war, and individual criminal responsibility related to those acts, ex officio or at the request of any entity court or court of the Brčko District of BiH.

Whose request and interest this is, to eliminate any form of harmonization and application of case law, is also not difficult to recognize.

In the Draft Law, in Chapter I – Jurisdiction of the Court, Article 16 (Criminal Jurisdiction), paragraph (3) has been completely amended by adding new points: a), b), c) and d).

Article 16, paragraph (3) of the Draft Law limits the jurisdiction of the Court for criminal offenses in the area of terrorism, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children, illicit drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, money laundering, corruption, environmental protection, counterfeiting of means of payment, computer crime and organized crime, prescribed by the criminal laws of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the conditions specified in points a), b), c) and d).

If the proposed territorial limitations were adopted, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina would no longer be competent for those mentioned criminal offenses committed on the territory of one entity or the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, except in the case where the commission of those criminal offenses caused damage of large proportions to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This practically means that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be competent for cases known to the public such as Dženan Memić, David Dragičević and similar cases.

Due to obvious omissions in some specific court proceedings conducted by courts at lower levels, great distrust of citizens towards the judiciary has arisen, and the involvement of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in specific cases is expected to correct all omissions in the work of lower judicial bodies and restore legal certainty.

It is unacceptable that, instead of strengthening the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to restore confidence in the impartiality and independence of conducting court proceedings, the jurisdiction of that court is being reduced and limited, and it is particularly unacceptable to strip jurisdiction for criminal offenses such as the subject of the Respirators case or the still ongoing cases of Memić and Dragičević.

It is not difficult to conclude who benefits from the reduction and limitation of the current jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some ministers of the "Trojka" coalition previously stated they would not support this, but we will soon see their responsibility and consistency when they declare their position on the proposed law.