Criticism bears fruit: FBiH Government withdraws Bill on Experts

Prime Minister of the FBiH Government Nermin Nikšić has sent a request to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament Dragan Mioković to postpone the consideration of the Bill on Experts in the FBiH, following criticism that if adopted, the law would place future criminal proceedings in the FBiH under the political control of the FBiH Ministry of Justice, which is controlled by the HDZ, writes istraga.ba.

“I request that, in accordance with Article 183 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and due to the need for additional time for the FBiH Government to consider and harmonize its response to amendments to the laws, the debate on the proposed laws included in the Proposed Agenda of the 24th regular session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament be postponed,” the letter from Prime Minister Nikšić states.

In addition to the Proposed Bill on Experts in the FBiH, the Proposed Bill on Amendments to the Law on Displaced Persons and Returnees in the Federation of FBiH and Refugees from BiH, as well as the Proposed Law on Mining in the FBiH, will also be further considered.

The proposed Bill on Experts would allow all future criminal proceedings in the Federation of BiH to be placed under the political control of the FBiH Ministry of Justice, which is controlled by the HDZ. The process would be controlled through court experts directly controlled by the FBiH Ministry of Justice. According to the proposed law, which has now been withdrawn, the Minister of Justice would form a commission that appoints and dismisses all experts in the FBiH. The findings of the experts would be crucial in the proceedings conducted by POSKOK, i.e., the Special Department for the Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime of the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

The decision comes after sharp criticism of the bill’s proposal by Chief Federal Prosecutor Munib Halilović and President of the FBiH Supreme Court Vesna Stanković-Ćosović. They described the proposed law as significantly worse than the existing one.

“The essence of the amendment consists in the fact that with the proposed solutions, the Commission for Proposing the List of Experts and Handling Objections to the Work of Experts is placed under complete political control,” they wrote.

They state that instead of the current solution, according to which the members are appointed by the highest judicial officials – the President of the Supreme Court or a judge designated by him, the Chief Federal Prosecutor or a prosecutor designated by him, which guarantees the expertise and independence of the commission whose composition does not depend on the will of individuals from the political sphere – a solution would be introduced whereby the personal composition of the Commission is under the complete control of the line minister, and thus politics.

“Considering the fact that the correct work of experts is of decisive importance for the quality and proper functioning of the judiciary and that their findings in a vast number of court proceedings predominantly generate the court decision, it is quite clear that the rationale of the existing solution is a guarantee of the independence of the aforementioned commission, thereby freeing the selection and work of experts from any political or other inappropriate influence,” wrote Chief Federal Prosecutor Munib Halilović and President of the FBiH Supreme Court Vesna Stanković-Ćosović.


According to the proposed solution, the minister would have complete control over the Commission, which would determine the list of experts, decide on objections to their work, and propose sanctions up to removal from the list of experts.

“In such a way that the minister, by his own choice, selects one judge, one prosecutor, one lawyer, and 2 members from the Ministry, one of whom is the president, thus complete political control over the election and dismissal of commission members, thereby automatically establishing political control over the process of electing and dismissing experts, and thus significantly compromising their independence and making them significantly more susceptible to various types of influence,” it is stated.