Nikšić for NAP: The referendum Dodik is calling for clearly has its protagonists in international circles as well

The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) has made a decision to allow the OSCE access to war crimes case files despite opposition from the BiH Prosecutor's Office, writes the Patria news agency.

Nermin Nikšić, president of the SDP, stated on this occasion in a statement for NAP that it has long been known that the judiciary in BiH is in a deep crisis.

- This is evidenced by numerous scandals within this system of government, turning a blind eye to a large number of corruption cases, and constant political interference in the process of appointing holders of judicial functions, which is hidden behind the false independence and autonomy of the judiciary. Very often we witness the adoption of highly questionable decisions by judges and prosecutors, especially in those cases where politics has its interests, for which there is no strength or will to establish a system of accountability in the judiciary - Nikšić pointed out.

He further added that we now have a new dimension, namely that international organizations operating in BiH are now openly showing their power and readiness to interfere in the work of the judiciary, which they have mostly hidden from the public until now, but which everyone has talked about.

- The example where the OSCE requests access to all war crimes cases pending in the BiH Prosecutor's Office clearly shows how the BiH judiciary is in the greatest crisis so far. The referendum that Dodik called for obviously has its protagonists in international circles as well, who should never allow themselves to be part of such retrograde policies that undermine the integrity of BiH institutions.

This form of interference in the work of the judiciary is a violation of state sovereignty, and therefore I am opposed to such efforts. Of course, I am aware that many will use this to once again obscure the fact that their only real concern is to prevent the discovery of how many cases have actually been set aside. However, this problem must be dealt with by domestic institutions - Nikšić emphasized.