Feraget: Tegeltija has dangerous intentions with the HJPC

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The unconstitutional announcement by Milorad Dodik, president of the SNSD and member of the BiH Presidency, regarding the blockade of state institutions by representatives of the Serb people, on which occasion Milan Tegeltija, president of the HJPC, said that he and the members of the HJPC from the Republika Srpska would implement that eventual request because he is a representative of Republika Srpska in the HJPC, as a member of the Republika Srpska Sub-Council in the HJPC, which was formed by the agreement on the transfer of competencies between the entities, shows that Milan Tegeltija has dangerous intentions to call into question the independence and autonomy of the HJPC as a state body, believes lawyer Ifet Feraget.

"According to the BiH Constitution, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a democratic state that functions in accordance with the law and on the basis of free and democratic elections. If that is the case, then it should not be disputed that the state of BiH must protect its constitutional order and security, in which it also has the support of the international community. In the criminal law sense, the protection of the state implies the protection of its constitutional order, as well as the functioning of the highest state institutions. The European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which prohibits any abuse of rights, is superior to the BiH Constitution. No one is denied the right to freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, as well as the related right to political affiliation, but at the same time, an end must be put to the abuse of rights, or, as one might say, to the search for reasons to do evil. Political conflicts in BiH have long been eroding its fabric, without any indication that the state or the international community will stop such attacks," Feraget explains.

According to Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Law on the HJPC, the HJPC functions as an independent and autonomous body and has the task of ensuring an independent, impartial and professional judiciary, as prescribed in Article 17 of this law.

"So, for something that is independent and also autonomous, which again means independent, we can say that it is mature, of age, and that it functions without outside influence. After all, Milan Tegeltija himself recently said at a session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament that the judiciary is 'truly independent and that no politician sees it as something of their own that they manage and feel the need to defend as their own.' Then it would be completely logical and legally grounded for Milan Tegeltija to ignore the announcements of politician Milorad Dodik about the blockade of state institutions, i.e., about 'managing the work of the HJPC.' Whether the announcements of blocking the work of state bodies could be viewed as a form of preparatory action for a criminal act that threatens constitutionally protected values would have to be discussed," Feraget concludes for Patria.