Nikšić and Knežević: Ensure effective implementation of the anti-corruption laws package

A package of three anti-corruption laws adopted in the Federation of BiH has been published in the Official Gazette, opening the door for their implementation, reports the BiH news agency Patria (NAP). In this regard, the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH Nermin Nikšić and the Minister of Justice of FBiH Zoran Mikulić, with their associates, received the Chief Federal Prosecutor Zdravko Knežević in Sarajevo today. 

These include the Law on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will come into effect six months after its entry into force, and the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH and the Law on Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure of FBiH.

The Law on Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property through Criminal Offenses, and the new federal Law on Misdemeanors are also expected to be published soon.

Following the adoption of this package in the FBiH Parliament, Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić emphasized that it was "a day when history begins to be written in the fight against corruption," while today he stressed the need to be as prepared as possible for its implementation.

- It is necessary to prepare an operational plan and thus create the prerequisites for the competent federal bodies to be formed to engage in a decisive and effective fight against corruption, organized and other forms of serious crime in the Federation of BiH and to radically change the current situation. For this, it is necessary to provide space, personnel, and resources, which we will do – said the federal prime minister.

The Law on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime regulates the establishment of special organizational units of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH, which will have actual and territorial jurisdiction for the prosecution and trial of cases of organized crime, corruption, inter-cantonal crime, and other forms of economic and serious crime.

It was agreed today to organize a meeting of representatives of the FBiH Government, the Supreme Court of FBiH, the Federal Prosecutor's Office, and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council as soon as possible to agree on the implementation of these laws, which will enable a more effective and successful fight against corruption and all forms of organized crime, it was announced from the FBiH Government.