How Darko Ćulum Remained Unscathed in the Overthrow of the Constitutional Order, While Committees, Commissions, and the BiH Prosecutor's Office Failed

By Amra Vrabac

The Joint Committee for Defense and Security of BiH never discussed the events in SIPA after Darko Ćulum resigned on March 18, withdrew it on July 9, and on July 14, appeared at his workplace and continued to perform his duties as director.

Although the Committee Chairperson Jasmin Imamović (SDP BiH) did not convene a session after Ćulum's withdrawal from SIPA amidst attacks on the constitutional order carried out by the authorities of the Republika Srpska entity, the Joint Committee was requested in August to hold an urgent session and establish all facts in the Darko Ćulum case. However, this did not happen.

From Ćulum's departure to his return, the Joint Committee held three sessions, the last one on July 8. None of them considered the situation regarding SIPA and Ćulum's illegal behavior.

The Joint Committee for Defense and Security scheduled a session for October 29, but it will consider several items, including the current security situation, for which the BiH Ministry of Security is the rapporteur. Again, not a word about Ćulum. It is possible that the report of the BiH Ministry of Security, headed by Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ), will even praise Ćulum for returning to the head of SIPA, just as Bošnjak defended him when he ordered the SIPA building in Banja Luka to be evacuated on March 7, following an order from the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A criminal complaint was filed against Ćulum with the BiH Prosecutor's Office at the end of July, and apart from the information that a case has been opened, this judicial institution has never confirmed whether Ćulum has the status of a suspect or what actions have been taken against him.

Although a case is being investigated for the attack on the constitutional order, with Milorad Dodik, Nenad Stevandić, Radovan Višković, and some other individuals as suspects, the BiH Prosecutor's Office has slowed down and even halted all activities in this case.

Although the Ćulum case has been problematized through the BiH Parliament, he remains at the head of SIPA. In the Ćulum case, the Independent Oversight Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH also failed, although it did consider the situation with Ćulum's withdrawal, but only at the end of August. At that time, there was no majority to initiate Darko Ćulum's dismissal, as Enes Obralija, Muhamed Mujakić, and Enes Bezdrob voted for it, Milan Stanić voted against the initiative, while Darko Kremenović, Miše Čavar, Nikola Džambas, and Mate Miletić abstained.

During his "absence" from SIPA, Ćulum served as an advisor in the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, and it remains unclear to this day how he established employment in the entity's Ministry of Internal Affairs.

With Ćulum's withdrawal in March, SIPA was left practically headless, as the position of deputy director has also been vacant since July 2024. Those who managed SIPA did so under Darko Ćulum's authority, and none of them found this problematic. The BiH Council of Ministers, due to political blockades by SNSD, never considered Ćulum's resignation.

The Joint Committee for Defense and Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina has the authority to consider and monitor the implementation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's security and defense policy, and to conduct parliamentary oversight to improve efficiency, transparency, and functionality. The implementation of parliamentary oversight is based on the principles of constitutionality, legality, democracy, and respect for human rights and freedoms.

The Joint Committee for Defense and Security of BiH conducts parliamentary oversight over the following institutions: defense institutions: the BiH Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of BiH; security institutions: the BiH Ministry of Security, the Border Police of BiH; the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, the Forensic Investigations and Expert Examinations Agency, the Agency for Education and Professional Training, and the Agency for Police Support; other BiH institutions and bodies within their competencies related to defense and security issues: the BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, in the part related to the import, export, and transit of weapons, military equipment, and dual-use products, as well as the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, in the part related to demining; bodies of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH within the scope of their work subject to parliamentary oversight: the Independent Oversight Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the Committee for Citizen Complaints against the Work of Police Officers in Police Bodies of BiH, and the Office of the Parliamentary Military Ombudsman of BiH; other BiH institutions if the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH makes a special decision on the matter.

Members of the Joint Committee for Defense and Security of BiH are Jasmin Imamović (SDP), Marina Pendeš (HDZ), Kemal Ademović (NIP), Darko Babalj (SDS), Zdenko Ćosić (HDZ), Milan Dunović (DF), Slavko Matić (HDZ), Želimir Nešković (SDS), Sredoje Nović (SNSD), Safet Softić (SDA), Šerif Špago (SDA), Sanja Vulić (SNSD).

An additional problem is that Ćulum's regular term expired in July 2024, and he has also met the conditions for retirement. However, the law allows him to remain in office until a new director is appointed or he leaves the position himself.