Lagumdžija wrote to Schmidt: We do not support amendments to the HJPC Law

(Patria) - Ahead of the session of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, which includes the adoption of the HJPC Law in the second reading on its agenda, the President of the HJPC, Halil Lagumdžija, wrote to the Office of the High Representative (OHR).

Lagumdžija explains that the HJPC supported the original draft amendments to the law, but that changes were made to the draft itself afterwards. The amendments were proposed by Zoran Tegeltija, adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH, and subsequently by both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in the first reading.

"Dear High Representative Mr. Schmidt, I express my gratitude and satisfaction regarding the meeting held today (04.09.2023) with you and your associates on the topic of the adoption process of the Bill on Amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH). I remind you that the HJPC BiH, with the Opinion of the HJPC BiH provided in September 2022, expressed support for the draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the HJPC BiH. However, at the session of the Council of Ministers of BiH held on May 11, 2023, the Bill was determined with corrections adopted at the session, which were then incorporated into the Bill submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, on which the HJPC BiH did not have the opportunity to formally comment", he wrote.

He explains that the Speakers of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH warned that the HJPC BiH had not approved the new legal solution.

"Accordingly, on May 30, 2023, the HJPC BiH sent a letter to the Speakers of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (reference number: 08-02-1-2053-3/2023) and a letter to the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (reference number: 08-02-1-2053- 2/2023), pointing out the need to consider the Opinion of the HJPC BiH on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the HJPC BiH adopted at the Council's session on May 24 and 25, 2023", he stated.

In the letter to the OHR, he emphasizes that the adopted amendments do not follow the necessary reforms for which the law was initiated in the first place, and states that, if adopted, they will not enable the HJPC to more effectively verify the assets of judges and prosecutors.

"Namely, in the aforementioned Opinion, we point out that the adopted text of the Bill on Amendments to the Law on the HJPC BiH contains interventions to the text that are not harmonized with the HJPC BiH, nor with the Opinion of the Venice Commission, and it does not have the support of the wider international community that followed the reform process. From the positions stated in the Opinion of the HJPC BiH, I wish to particularly emphasize the issue of Article 86c. (Conducting an additional check), which, as formulated, will not enable the expected implementation of the competencies given to the HJPC BiH. In fact, Article 86c. from the Bill can lead to uneven applicability to judges and prosecutors in BiH, as its application will depend on the application of legal and sub-legal solutions at the entity level and Brčko District of BiH", he stated.

He states that on September 1, 2023, the HJPC BiH sent a letter to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, again pointing out the earlier facts presented in the Opinion.

"I emphasize that the Venice Commission, in its 2020 Opinion, did not comment on the previously formulated Article 86c, considering it undisputed in terms of developing an effective system for reviewing annual financial reports, thereby ensuring the implementation of the given competence by providing easy access to financial data, which is also in line with GRECO recommendations. I also remind that seven signatories of the joint letter of June 2, 2023, expressed their opinion on the negative impact of the amendments adopted at the session of the Council of Ministers of BiH held on May 11, 2023, explicitly stating that these are amendments that contradict the fundamental values of the rule of law (letter from the Ambassadors of the USA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to BiH, the OSCE, the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, the Swiss Confederation to BiH, the Kingdom of Sweden to BiH, the High Representative in BiH dated 02.06.2023)", he stated in the letter to the OHR.

He demands that "bad legal solutions that will not be enforceable be abandoned and that the harmonized version between the HJPC BiH and the Ministry of Justice of BiH be ultimately returned to the procedure".

"Otherwise, the adopted text of the Bill will not enable the planned reform processes in this area. The HJPC BiH strongly supports and remains committed to the reform path aimed at Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in the European Union", it concluded.