Lukač does not give up: He sued the FBiH Government and asks the court to keep him at the helm of the FUP

Dragan Lukač filed a lawsuit against the FBiH Government at the Sarajevo Municipal Court because they prevented him from becoming the director of the Federal Police Administration, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

He filed a lawsuit and asked the Municipal Court to issue a security measure, i.e., to keep him at the helm of the FUP until the conclusion of the dispute!

From the FBiH Government today, they sent a response to this lawsuit in which they propose that the court reject the Proposal for determining a temporary security measure, or reject it as unfounded.

Incidentally, the Government received the lawsuit and the proposal for determining a (temporary) security measure on March 9, 2015, because the FBiH Attorney's Office declared itself incompetent to represent in this case on February 23, 2015.

We remind you, the FBiH Government on February 10, 2015, adopted a unanimous Decision on not accepting the final proposal of the Independent Board for the appointment of Dragan Lukač as director of the Federal Police Administration.

The Government adopted this decision because the legal prerequisites for considering the Decision on the final proposal of the Independent Board of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not met.

In the explanation of the FBiH Government's Decision, it is stated that the Independent Board conducted the procedure for the selection of the director of the Federal Police Administration based on a Law that has ceased to be valid. The Government notes that on October 11, 2014, a new Law came into force, thereby repealing the previous Law on Internal Affairs of the Federation of BiH. Furthermore, the Law does not contain any transitional provisions on the basis of which the Law that has since ceased to be valid could be applied. To comply with the conditions of the Law, the competent authority could and should have announced a new public competition and, on that basis, established a list of three candidates from which the director of the Federal Police Administration would be selected.

The Federal Government also stated at the time that the functioning of the Federal Police Administration was in no way jeopardized since, based on the Law on Internal Affairs of the FBiH, its work, until the appointment of a director, is managed by an acting director.

We remind you, the saga around Lukač's selection began in October 2014, and the Independent Board, led by Sead Selman, wanted at all costs to appoint Lukač as director of the FUP, even though the new Law on Internal Affairs of the FBiH had come into force.

The Office of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Legislation and Compliance with European Union Regulations confirmed that the competition procedure for the selection of the director of the Federal Police Administration was conducted outside the law, i.e., that it was necessary to announce a competition under the new law on internal affairs.

However, this did not prevent the Independent Board of the PFBiH, led by Selman, from proposing Dragan Lukač twice for the selection of the director of the Federal Police Administration, even though several years ago he was obliged to initiate the process of his dismissal due to proven criminal activity and a serious breach of official duty.

Criminal complaint against Selman to the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office

The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office also got involved in the whole story, after one of the candidates, Svevlad Hoffmann, who eventually withdrew his candidacy, filed a criminal complaint against Selman. It was confirmed to Patria that the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office received a criminal complaint from Svevlad Hoffmann on November 20 last year, against Sead Selman and others for alleged abuse of official authority during the election procedure for the director of the FUP.

- The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton has intensified pre-investigation actions in the specific case, in order to determine the possible commission of a criminal offense. Upon their completion, the Prosecutor's Office will decide on undertaking further actions and measures within its competence, all with the aim of reaching a final prosecutorial decision, about which the public will be informed in a timely manner – said Alem Hamzić, spokesperson for the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office.

Lukač, Selman and the Čampara brothers

However, the Independent Board of the Parliament of the FBiH does not give up and, despite all opinions that the competition was conducted outside legal procedures, made a decision that the competition will not be annulled.

Sead Selman, Chairman of the Independent Board of the PFBiH, again received the confidence of the other members of the Independent Board to perform this function until the end of his mandate, even though he has been in a conflict of interest from the first day, even under the old Law on Internal Affairs.

However, all this must go through parliamentary procedure, where Selman will not pass so easily due to the investigation being conducted against him.

Midhat Karović, Chairman of the Security Commission of the PFBiH, is surprised by this approach of the Independent Board and says he cannot believe that someone is acting as a greater legal expert than the Office for Legislation of the FBiH Government.

- We will do everything to review it and to supplement the Independent Board in accordance with the new law. Now we will raise this issue in the Parliament, and we usually must start preparations for the election of a new Independent Board in April, in accordance with the current law, six months before the end of the mandate we must start working – said Karović.

Selman's and Lukač's connections are deeply intertwined with interests, from the director protecting his subordinate from disciplinary responsibility for 'banging' the official car, to rewarding him with a boss position in the FUP when he was elected director four years ago.

The brothers Aljoša and Dubravko Čampara also got their fingers into the last appointment procedure.

We remind you, Aljoša Čampara, at the time of the Independent Board session when Lukač was selected as the best candidate, walked the corridors of the Parliament of the FBiH and pressured the members of the Independent Board to support Lukač's appointment.

Despite the fact that Lukač must retire in a few months due to legal age (although he should have earlier but he erased his work record), this did not bother the Čamparas; on the contrary, it suited them to eliminate political dissidents of the Deputy President of the SDA, Bakir Izetbegović, through fabricated criminal complaints and investigations in the coming months, ahead of the upcoming Congress of this party.

Pressure, which is completely unacceptable because it concerns a state prosecutor, was also continued by Aljoša's brother Dubravko Čampara.

According to Patria's information, during the earlier session of the FBiH Government, which refused to appoint Lukač as director and made a decision to announce a competition according to the new Law on Internal Affairs of the FBiH, Dubravko called ministers by phone and pressured them to raise their hands for him.