Independent Board Without Decision, Quorum Lost: Will There Be No Deputy Director Election Until the SIPA Director is Appointed?

(Patria) - The Independent Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina began its session on Monday, February 17, which was adjourned due to lack of quorum during the consideration of the third agenda item.

At this session, the date for conducting interviews with candidates who applied and meet the conditions of the Public Call for the procedure of selecting candidates for the election of the Deputy Director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) was supposed to be determined.

According to information from Patria, members of the Independent Board from the Serb people expressed dissatisfaction with the continuation of this procedure, and the SIPA director has never been appointed, even though the Independent Board submitted a list to the then Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nenad Nešić, back in September last year.

The list contained three names: first-ranked Darko Ćulum, second-ranked Ljubiša Pandurević, and third-ranked Slobodan Radinković. Given that the minister has the discretionary right to propose one of the candidates from the list, Nešić opted for Radinković, publicly stating “that this name was agreed upon within the Serb corps and with Milorad Dodik.”

Due to certain information that leaked to the public, in which Radinković is linked to individuals from the criminal milieu, Nešić was clearly told at the time that there would be no support for Radinković, and this item never appeared on the agenda of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nešić was arrested at the end of December and was dismissed from his position at the end of January, but the appointment of the SIPA director is still on hold. Due to turbulence within the coalition at the state level, especially between the parties of the troika and the SNSD, it is questionable when this item will even come to the agenda. Regardless of the expiration of his mandate, Ćulum remains in the position of director until the appointment of a new director.

Given that the Deputy Director of SIPA, fugitive Zoran Galić, was also prematurely dismissed, the Independent Board initiated the procedure for the election of a deputy director. However, certain members of the Independent Board believe that the deputy cannot be elected until a new SIPA director is appointed. Members from the Serb people left the session on Monday, as did Muhamed Mujakić, thereby breaking the quorum for work.

On the other hand, the question also arose as to whether all applications received for the Deputy Director of SIPA are in accordance with the conditions of the Public Call for the Deputy Director of SIPA.

The Independent Board was addressed by Svevlad Hoffmann, one of the candidates for that position, requesting that the application of Đuro Knežević be rejected, given that he has already served two terms as Deputy Director of SIPA.

Incidentally, the duties of the minister until the appointment of a new Minister of Security are performed by Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ BiH), who can change the proposal for the SIPA director. However, due to the entire political situation, this will probably not happen, and it is possible that the HDZ will demand that the election of the director and deputy director go as a package.

Although the session was adjourned without decisions on these two items, before the adjournment, the Independent Board analyzed the implementation of GRECO recommendations and, in that regard, the letter from the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina dated January 28, 2025. The Independent Board adopted a conclusion committing to implement all GRECO recommendations from the Evaluation Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina that relate to the procedures for selecting heads of police bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that are not contrary to the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the latest GRECO report (Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe), several recommendations were also mentioned that relate to the selection of heads of SIPA and the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

GRECO recommended taking measures to ensure that appointments of senior police officers in the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the State Investigation and Protection Agency are strictly merit-based and guided by open, standardized, and transparent competitions.

As stated in the report, the Independent Board conducts the procedure, and the authorities confirm that the competitions are open to the public and are conducted in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Independent Board (adopted in 2009).

Moreover, the selection criteria are prescribed by law. According to the authorities, adherence to legal procedures guarantees that relevant appointments are merit-based and that competitions are open, standardized, and transparent. Finally, the Independent Commission implemented this recommendation by compiling a set of standard questions for the interview and establishing a standard duration for the interview (30 minutes).

GRECO welcomes the decision of the Independent Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to standardize the duration and format of interviews with candidates for senior police positions. GRECO also notes that the remaining information provided by the authorities was already taken into account at the time of the adoption of the Evaluation Report. It regrets that no new measures have been taken to guarantee full transparency of the selection process. GRECO notes that the authorities could consider publishing candidates' CVs or video recordings of interviews as useful measures in this regard. Public oversight of these competitions is crucial to protect the Independent Commission from political influence, which, as highlighted in the Evaluation Report, affects its functioning. GRECO calls on the authorities to establish relevant safeguards without further delay.

GRECO concludes that the recommendation has been partially implemented.

The authorities are also expected to take additional measures to guarantee transparency and public oversight of competitions for the appointment of senior management.

GRECO states that progress will need to be achieved in the next 18 months to reach an adequate level of compliance with the recommendations.

A special part of the recommendations relates to integrity checks of all police officers of SIPA and the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina, possible conflicts of interest, as well as the declaration of assets of the heads of these agencies.