Neither budget nor new deadline for the Integrity Department: Judges and prosecutors cannot assume mandates, VSTV quorum also in question

(Patria) - More than 50 appointed judges and prosecutors have been unable to assume their duties in judicial institutions since March because the Integrity Department, which verifies the assets of public office holders, has still not been established.

The deadline set by the latest amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (VSTV) has passed, and there is neither a Department, nor a state budget, nor amendments to the Law on the VSTV to extend the date for the Department to begin operations.

Although the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on the VSTV was supposed to be on the agenda of yesterday's session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this did not happen. There was also no mention of a new budget for this year at yesterday's session.

When the earlier amendments were adopted, which already extended the deadline for establishing the Integrity Department by 90 days, some representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina asked Minister of Justice Davor Bunoza (HDZ BiH) to postpone the deadline by another 90 days. He then said that if necessary, he would easily amend the law again and postpone the deadline.

Due to the provisions of the Law on the VSTV, the work of this body has also come into question. The mandate of VSTV member Sanela Gorušanović-Butigan expired in June, and a new member cannot assume the position because they have not passed the checks that the Integrity Department should carry out. She no longer participates in the work of the VSTV and has returned to her job at the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, meaning that cantonal and municipal courts from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have no representative in the VSTV.

If the Law on the VSTV is not amended or a budget is not adopted to allocate funds for the 14 employees of the Integrity Department, the work of the VSTV will be jeopardized, as will the entire judiciary.

In October, the mandate of Lejla Hadžić, a member of the VSTV, also expires, and in November that of Biljana Simeunović. The quorum for the work of the VSTV is already in question.

By the end of the year, around 200 holders of judicial functions will be unable to assume their duties.

The VSTV has still not completed the competition for the selection of judges and prosecutors for the special department of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Prosecutor's Office of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will deal with the fight against corruption and organized crime.

This year, a completely new Law on the VSTV should be adopted, and the desire of the HDZ is also a new organization of the VSTV, i.e., to strip the VSTV of certain powers. Is this the reason why Minister Bunoza is delaying amendments to the Law on the VSTV and leading Bosnia and Herzegovina into legal uncertainty.