Did Krunić Avoid a Conflict of Interest Penalty by Resigning as Chairman of the Independent Board?

The competent Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina dealing with conflict of interest determination, after conducting a conflict of interest verification procedure regarding the Chairman of the Independent Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Žika Krunić, established that he was in a conflict of interest, fined him, and gave him a 30-day deadline to eliminate the reasons that led to the conflict of interest, reports the Patria news agency.

This was otherwise the first decision of the Commission after the amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest. However, instead of responding, Krunić promptly resigned from the position of Chairman of the Independent Board, citing, as he stated, „systemic obstruction by competent authorities to establish responsibility for the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić that occurred at the Potočari Memorial Center in 2015.“

Krunić did not address the conclusion of the Commission for Conflict of Interest Determination in a single sentence. The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consider Žika Krunić's resignation from the position of member of the Independent Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as an independent body of the police structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on December 29, but it is still unclear how the established conflict of interest will affect Krunić.

We remind you, the Commission established that Žiko Krunić, while serving as Chairman of the Independent Board from March 17, 2014, to December 24, 2015, simultaneously held the position of director of the mixed holding company Elektroprivreda RS, parent company A.D. Trebinje, independent company mine and thermal power plant Ugljevik, and that from February 3, 2016, he served as acting executive director for corporate affairs, and from May 20, 2016, to the present, he serves as executive director. Krunić was sanctioned with a suspension of payment of part of his net salary in the amount of 30 percent, which he receives as Chairman of the Independent Board, for a duration of six months.

At this moment, the Chairman of the Commission, Jasmin Emrić, cannot say with certainty whether Krunić will eventually have to return the money in the determined amount.

- Krunić was given a 30-day deadline to eliminate the reasons that led to the conflict of interest, i.e., to resign from the position of executive director for corporate affairs and submit proof of this to the commission. He has now offered his resignation from the position on the Independent Board. We will see what the procedure is after that, because this is our first decision after the amendments to the Law - Emrić pointed out.

We remind you, earlier the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Mektić, requested Krunić's dismissal given that in previous years he blocked the dismissal of the Director of the Agency for Investigation and Protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SIPA), Goran Zubac. 

In April of this year, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina also discussed the Report of the Temporary Joint Commission of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for reviewing the work of the Independent Board, which noted a series of irregularities in the work of the Independent Board.

The Independent Board is responsible for conducting the procedure for selecting candidates and proposing the dismissal of police chiefs and deputy chiefs of police bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, publishing competitions and reviewing candidate applications, selecting and submitting to the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina the names of up to five candidates for chiefs and up to five candidates for deputy chiefs of police bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as reviewing complaints about the work of chiefs and deputy chiefs of police bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

This board has nine members who are elected from among representatives of judicial institutions, retired police officers, retired and active civil servants, and prominent experts from other areas of public life, in the fields of law, criminal sciences, and police affairs.

The Law on Independent and Supervisory Bodies of the Police Structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly specifies that a candidate for member of the Independent Board cannot be a member of a political party.