Holtzapple visited HJPC BiH, discussed future cooperation

(Patria) - Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, visited the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH today with his associates and discussed with members of the HJPC Presidency of BiH.

Given that Holtzapple took over as Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH in August, the visit was organized to get acquainted with the leadership of the HJPC of BiH, as well as to discuss future directions of cooperation between these two institutions.

The Vice-President of the HJPC of BiH, Sanela Gorušanović Butigan, emphasized at the beginning of the meeting the successful cooperation between the HJPC of BiH and the OSCE Mission to BiH in numerous areas such as improving the appointment procedures of judicial office holders, strengthening transparency, and cooperation related to the effective processing of war crimes, organized crime and corruption cases, as well as other areas of cooperation.

The central topics of today's visit were the preparation of the new Law on the HJPC of BiH and the issue of the integrity of judicial office holders through the implementation of the provisions of the current Law on the HJPC of BiH.

Holtzapple emphasized that he was very interested in meeting with the leadership of the HJPC of BiH, considering the high level of cooperation established with the HJPC in the past period, as well as the fact that the Council is an important pillar of authority and one of the key institutions for strengthening public trust in the judiciary.

He stressed that he appreciates the professionalism and dedication of the HJPC of BiH and the entire judicial community in facing the challenges they have faced in the past period.