General session of all BiH Court judges to consider recusal of judges Perić, Čampara and Debevec in race for BiH Court president

(Patria) - Judge of the BiH Court Branko Perić requested recusal from the Respirators case, and today the president of the HJPC, Halil Lagumdžija, spoke about it. 

His request will also have to be considered and decided upon by the General session of all judges of the BiH Court.

"His request will be given for consideration to the reporting judge, who will elaborate on it legally and come up with a proposal for holding a General session. At the general session, the only certainty is that a decision will be made, but what that decision will be - I would not delve into that, I would not prejudge. Three decisions are possible: That the request be rejected, that it be accepted, meaning that he be recused, and that the request be dismissed," said Lagumdžija.

In the event that Judge Perić's request for his recusal is accepted, he will no longer act in that case, and then a new criminal judge will be assigned.

"One of the judges who participated in the panel will take over the role of the panel president," said Lagumdžija. 

Otherwise, in the Respirators case, the Trial Panel consisted of Braco Stupar, Branko Perić, and Džemila Begović, who was the president. After Judge Begović retired, Perić became the panel president, and Judge Goran Radević joined the panel. 

Lagumdžija explained what could happen with the trial process if Perić's request is accepted.

„It is possible that the parties give their consent for the entire procedure not to restart, in which case the judge joining the Panel would be given a slightly longer period to familiarize themselves with all the evidence, and there is a possibility for the parties to ask questions or for the entire procedure to restart. I think the BiH Court has a practice of managing to overcome this so that the entire procedure does not restart if a recusal occurs," said Lagumdžija. 

The president of the HJPC confirmed today that only two candidates applied for the position of president of the BiH Court - the current president of the BiH Court, Ranko Debevec, and the prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Dubravko Čampara.

Lagumdžija, responding to a journalist's question, said that a prosecutor can apply for the position, but that does not mean they will be selected.

"His application will be reviewed in advance to determine its validity, and the competent sub-committee of the HJPC will decide on it," said Lagumdžija.

He added that if Čampara's application is found to be invalid, it will be rejected.

"I will be excluded from the entire procedure, and I am happy about that since the president of the BiH Court, from which I come, is being elected. I will be excluded from all segments of decision-making," stated Lagumdžija.