Magazinović vs. Grubeša: How did you become Minister of Justice alongside Čolak and Krišto!?

Saša Magazinović, SDP delegate in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Josip Grubeša (HDZ BiH), Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had a real small clash regarding the signed agreement on judicial reform in Brussels, reports a Patria agency journalist.

Magazinović wanted to find out whether the signed protocol in Brussels actually represents an agreement between HDZ and SNSD, whether the Council of Ministers stands behind it or Grubeša signed the Protocol on his own behalf, and whether Parliament should have been informed about all this.

Grubeša, the Minister of Justice, then gave a lesson in parliamentary democracy, stating that judicial reform must and should be handled by the executive branch, presented to the relevant ministers, with the final decision to be made by parliament.

- As befits parliamentary democracy. No one has or can have exclusive rights to the judicial reform process, but it is our obligation and duty for everyone to operate within their given powers. Policies in BiH cannot demand that reform proceed along the path they have chosen.

Everyone must have the right to propose a judicial reform that they consider adequate. BiH is a country composed of constituent peoples and others, and everyone must have the right to present their opinion and arguments, and others have the obligation to listen to them. BiH cannot progress on the path to the EU if we only respect our own proposals, while dismissing the opinions of others from the start as wrong and unacceptable.

The only thing I can conclude from all this uproar is that the protocol has not been read and that reform is not being supported. The protocol is not a legally binding act but an expression of readiness for cooperation, which was also praised by Commissioner Johannes Hahn. Politicians in BiH, as well as EU representatives, have an interest in ensuring an independent and professional judiciary, but it is evident that we all have different visions of how to achieve this. I have already mentioned earlier that all interested parties will have the opportunity to give their opinion. Why is a problem being created if we gave one entity the chance to present its proposal? There is nothing controversial in the protocol, at least not for someone who wants judicial reform to happen. It is merely an expression of will to start reforms - Grubeša emphasized.

Magazinović sharply replied, saying that "the claim that Grubeša is the only one who should deal with this is something that former Minister Čolak (Bariša Čolak, editor's note) would never have said."

- I don't even know how, alongside people with great legal and political experience from your party, such as former Minister Čolak or Borjana Krišto, you became Minister of Justice. But that is not what I need to discuss. You did not answer any of my questions. What we do know is that we read about this in the media and from the reactions of political parties. We know that SDA does not stand behind this protocol that you signed, although many consider their opposition as a show for the public, given the recent concessions to HDZ, but they will have the opportunity to prove this by initiating the dismissal of the Minister of Justice of BiH - Magazinović stated.