OHR calls on Lukač and Čampara to respect the law during the admission of candidates to the Special Unit

The Office of the High Representative (OHR) has been informed about a case of discrimination and irregularities during the admission of 15 candidates to the Special Unit of the Federal Police Administration, carried out by director Dragan Lukač. From the list of the most successful candidates submitted to him by the Selection Commission, he unilaterally removed four Bosniak candidates ranked 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th, replacing them with candidates from the 18th, 27th, 42nd, and 48th positions who declared themselves as Others and Croats, reports the Patria agency.

With this act, Lukač committed discrimination and also violated the Law on Police Officials of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Law on Internal Affairs. Lukač did not follow the legal procedure and called into question the legality of his work as a police officer.

The OHR confirmed to the Patria agency that they are aware of this case.

- The rules related to the competition procedure and the process of filing appeals after the competition has been conducted have long been established. The OHR expects this issue to be resolved by the competent authorities, in accordance with established procedures - states the OHR's response.

We remind you that Lukač violated the Law on Police Officials of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of FBiH, No. 27/05; 70/08 and 44/11), specifically Article 51 of the Rules of the Selection Procedure:

(4) The Selection Commission:

a) determines the content of the tests referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, with the approval of the manager;

b) determines the final result for each candidate based on the total sum of the results of each test;

c) issues, by decision, the list of candidates who took the tests;

d) proposes candidates with the highest number of points from the list referred to in point c) of this paragraph, for employment in accordance with the advertised number of vacant positions.

Article 52.

Notification

(1) The police authority publishes on its notice board the list of results achieved on each test, as well as the final results of all candidates who took the tests, no later than thirty days from the date of the last testing. The score list shall also include candidates who successfully completed the testing and candidates proposed for employment.

Article 53.

Appeal against the decision of the Selection Commission

- Only after the Police Board decides on all submitted appeals will the manager approve the final list of all candidates proposed for employment.

Lukač created the list before the Police Board considered the appeals. Incidentally, the Police Board has until Friday, August 18, to decide on the received appeals. We remind you that an identical scenario occurred in the previous competition, which was ultimately annulled.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Aljoša Čampara, did not react in this case, although he was aware of Lukač's actions. If nothing else, as minister, he has a duty to ensure compliance with the Law on Internal Affairs of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of FBiH, No. 81/14).

Thus, Article 35 on the Work of Police Officials stipulates that "the work of police officials is subject to non-discrimination on any grounds such as gender, race, skin color, religion, ethnic or social origin, association with a national minority, political or other opinion, property, birth, or other status."

Article 89. Breaches of Official Duties by the Police Director

4) Providing inaccurate information that influences the decision-making of competent authorities

7) Concealing facts about the manner of performing official tasks

11) Engaging in activities that are not in accordance with the interests of the Federal Ministry and the Police Administration, or which damage the reputation of the Federal Ministry and the Police Administration.

14) Issuing orders whose execution would constitute a criminal offense

15) Discriminating in the performance of duties based on race, skin color, gender, language, religion, political or other affiliation, national or social origin, or any other basis.

If, even after the Police Board's decision, Lukač's list remains valid, then the question arises as to what kind of state we live in and what kind of police force is supposed to protect all citizens of this country. Lukač is well on his way to ending his career with criminal offenses: Abuse of Position or Authority (Article 383 of the Criminal Code of FBiH), Violation of Equality in Employment (Article 279 of the Criminal Code of FBiH), Arbitrariness (Article 370 of the Criminal Code of FBiH). He also violated the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in Chapter II, Article 2, point d) explicitly states: "the prohibition of any discrimination based on race, skin color, gender, language, religion or belief, political or other opinions, national and social origin."

The ball is now in the court of the Police Board and Minister Čampara.