Ivana Korajlić from TI BiH: Amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH Deviate from European Practice

SARAJevo, (Patria) - MPs in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, at yesterday's session, overwhelmingly voted for amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH, specifically Article 382 of that law, which relates to trading in influence. This type of trading will no longer be treated as a criminal offense, except in cases where bribery is directly sought or given.

Amendments to this article of the Criminal Code were proposed by Elzina Pirić from the Democratic Action Movement, led by Mirsad Kukić. The president of that party is currently on trial for this criminal offense. Amendments to Article 382 of the Criminal Code of FBiH were supported by MPs from SDA, SBB, HDZ BiH, and SDP BiH. MP Amir Zukić from SDA, as well as Asim Sarajlić, vice-president of SDA and MP in the State Parliament, are also being tried for the same offense.

Ivana Korajlić from Transparency International believes this constitutes a narrowing of criminal offenses, which is not good. She stated that this law was harmonized with the recommendations of GRECO (the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body) in 2016, but with the new amendments to the Criminal Code in the Federal Parliament, European practice has been deviated from.

- In such a way that the relationship between trading in influence and illegal mediation is completely undermined and confusingly defined. Another issue is the manner in which the amendments were adopted, in an accelerated procedure without anyone having the opportunity to react. This is a systemic law that should have gone through various commissions and bodies of the FBiH Parliament – Korajlić commented for the Patria agency.

She states that with the latest amendments to the Criminal Code, parliamentarians are only acting in favor of a few individuals against whom proceedings are underway precisely for such criminal offenses, without any consideration for the fight against corruption.

- Everything was intentionally done in secret. The amendments were proposed by one MP, without consultation with other bodies – Korajlić said.

Sabina Ćudić, vice-president of Our Party, condemned the adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH and announced a blockade of the law in the House of Peoples of FBiH.

- These amendments show that crime has instrumentalized the House of Representatives. Besides the fact that some individuals will be acquitted of charges for trading in influence, the worst part is that everyone in the future has free rein to mediate in illegal activities because mediation is no longer illegal. In this way, a loophole has been created in the law through which the entire criminal element of the ruling structure can pass – said Ćudić, announcing that delegates of Our Party in the House of Peoples will do everything to stop, as she emphasized, this attempt to legalize crime.