Išerić on appointment failures: Characters involved in criminal-corrupt affairs are desirable for destroying the state

Written by: Enver Išerić, President of the Association Guardians of Bosnia

During the appointment of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we were always pompously announced that opinions, i.e. security checks for candidates, were awaited. But in reality, there are no security checks. Even state bodies (SIPA) are prohibited by law from checking anything other than the candidates' statements.

Let us look at Article 10d, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina: "Before the Chair of the Council of Ministers appoints a minister or deputy minister, they shall request the person being appointed to submit all information from paragraph 1 of this article.

The body responsible for appointment forwards the information submitted under paragraph 1, point a) of this article to SIPA without delay. The body responsible for appointment forwards the information submitted under paragraph 1, point b) of this article to the Election Commission without delay.

In accordance with Article 3, paragraph 1, point 8 of the Law on the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA verifies the accuracy of the information submitted to it under paragraph 3 of this article and submits a final report to the body responsible for appointment.

No provision of this paragraph shall be interpreted, directly or indirectly, as in any way or form extending SIPA's competencies in preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal offenses and/or as otherwise authorizing SIPA to perform other tasks or competencies other than those strictly related to verifying the accuracy of data submitted under this paragraph."

As the former Minister of Security said - "what those characters came up with."

So, they can check whether the candidate stated the correct address, whether they listed all the properties they "stole," and whether they correctly stated if they have been convicted or not. And those kinds of information that OSA and SIPA possess are not important. They are no obstacles for characters involved in criminal-corrupt affairs to run the state.

In other words, such persons are desirable for its destruction. Everything here has become mere formality. No substance! And even the form is not respected.

And it seems to me that Minister Nešić did not receive approval for access to classified information on time.

And now another formal question: Could SIPA not have written that the minister's statements are accurate or inaccurate, but we also have such and such information...

Well, SIPA officials would not end up in prison because of that. Nor would they violate the law. Because they are not extending their competencies granted by the Law on the Council of Ministers.

It should have submitted the data it possesses about the candidates, which it has and which were collected based on authorizations from other laws. And by doing so, it would protect the state, which is its primary task, arising from its very name - the State Investigation and Protection Agency.

I say to the state prosecutors who have made such omissions with appointments from 1996 to this day and in the future: may your hands fall off, God willing!