Incomplete letter by Ružica Jukić

Media on Monday published a letter by Ružica Jukić, vice-president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Jukić asks the state Presidency to inform the UN about "interference in the work of BiH judicial institutions."

Jukić, shocked and appalled, refers to the joint letter from last week by ambassadors of several Western countries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, coordinated with the OHR and OSCE, the controllers of peace and legal order in BiH, in which they warn that no one in the country can be above the law, not even the president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, Milan Tegeltija, who was recorded in a corruption scandal in a way that an SIPA inspector asks for money from a businessman from Velika Kladuša for Tegeltija, so that he would influence the then cantonal prosecutor in Sarajevo, Dalida Burzić, to finally process a criminal complaint filed by Nermin Alešević against several individuals for malversations with Bobar bank loans after two years of ignoring it, including some political officials in the country.

The warning from the International Community "that no one in the country can be above the law, not even the president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, Milan Tegeltija," after the HJPC Disciplinary Commission had previously cleared Tegeltija of responsibility, was interpreted by Jukić as pressure on the Bosnian-Herzegovinian judiciary, so she asked the heads of state to inform the United Nations and the European Union about this "scandal."

The "professionally and morally credible" Jukić, "without any violation, not even a traffic one," "with the same assets now as when she first took office in the HJPC," asks the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, as well as Valentin Inzko and Bruce G. Berton: "do glass and rubber rooms for judicial office holders exist in their countries, and are they asked how to act in a particular case?" "she asks them if Alešević would have already been arrested in their countries, because he tried to bribe a high-ranking judicial official and because he illegally and unlawfully recorded and kept such a recording for several months?" "could the Minister of Security in their countries organize protests, demanding the overthrow of the third branch of government, while being burdened by prosecutorial investigations against him in the prosecutor's office before which he protested?" Of course, that would not be possible in their countries, Jukić answers her own questions "because their judicial system is protected from such attacks, which lead to anarchy and a complete lack of public trust in the judicial system."

If we accept that there is nothing to remove from the questions Jukić posed to the ambassadors, there is certainly much to add to those questions. Jukić asks the ambassadors "do glass and rubber rooms for judicial office holders exist in their countries, and are they asked how to act in a particular case?" while at the same time not mentioning that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, official drivers of members of the BiH Presidency kidnap political opponents and stuff them into the trunk of an official presidential Audi – like Čović's driver Krezić – without any sanctions. Jukić asks "would Alešević have already been arrested in their countries, because he tried to bribe a high-ranking judicial official and because he illegally and unlawfully recorded and kept such a recording for several months?" while at the same time not debating why the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not arrest Alešević, if he tried to bribe a high-ranking judicial official and because he illegally and unlawfully recorded and kept such a recording for several months." Furthermore, Jukić does not question how Alešević even got into a position where he had to expedite a criminal complaint he filed with the Prosecutor's Office "with additional means of persuasion." Jukić also does not raise the question in the letter as to why Inspector Pandža, who predictably and uncreatively said: "I misused Milan Tegeltija's name and took the money solely for myself...", was only called for questioning by the Prosecutor's Office two weeks after the scandal, thus leaving him enough room to influence witnesses and the entire process. Jukić is the controller of the Prosecutor's Office's work, and it is her responsibility if the Prosecutor's Office does not act according to the law.

Jukić also asks "Could the Minister of Security in their countries organize protests, demanding the overthrow of the third branch of government, while being burdened by prosecutorial investigations against him in the prosecutor's office before which he protested." At the same time, she omits that, for example, Dragan Čović holds the highest political positions in BiH even though he is suspected of abusing prisoners of war as labor in the company Soko in Mostar, where he was a manager, during the war in BiH?!

Any "professionally and morally credible person" would react to the slightest irregularity noticed within their own ranks, in this specific case, the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is at its lowest point since the war. Instead, Ružica Jukić approaches problems selectively. As deputy president of the HJPC, she voted for and supported the appointment of Gordana Tadić as chief state prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, even though Tadić is related to high-ranking HDZ officials. Jukić talks about the pressure of foreign ambassadors on the judiciary in BiH, while omitting the political influence of domestic political elites. Jukić supported Tadić for the position of Chief Prosecutor, even though the BiH Prosecutor's Office, led by Tadić, filed only six indictments for corruption in 2018, the year before, despite international reports treating BiH as a country with an extremely high level of corruption.

Or, Jukić supported the appointment of Dalida Burzić as a judge of the BiH Court, despite the fact that as a cantonal prosecutor, she led the murder case of the young man Dženan Memić in the wrong direction.

A fair and incorruptible judge would either vote against a compromised person taking charge of judicial institutions in BiH, or would resign from their position, not wishing to participate in the further criminalization of the judiciary.

Given that the vice-president of the HJPC does not approach these problems objectively, but rather presents them partially, it can be concluded that Ružica Jukić is not the "professionally and morally credible person" she presents herself as, and that in the "Tegeltija" affair, she has sided with the political bloc led by Milorad Dodik and Russian Ambassador Petr Ivancov, who are currently measuring forces with Western countries through the HJPC on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In serious countries, neither Tegeltija could be the president of the prosecutorial council, nor could Ružica Jukić be his deputy.