Simeunović Resigns, Other HJPC Members Dissatisfied: Lagumdžija Acts Like a Movie Extra

By: A. Vrabac

Developments at today's session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH further confirmed the stance that HJPC President Halil Lagumdžija can no longer perform this responsible function.

The departure of HJPC member Biljana Simeunović, who today submitted her resignation from the position of HJPC Vice-President, did not surprise the HJPC members, and this has opened the question of what will happen next in the HJPC.

In her resignation letter, Simeunović clearly specified that the Director of the Secretariat, Admir Suljagić, prevented her from performing her duties and work, and that Lagumdžija approved of this. Some HJPC members also warned about problems with Suljagić's conduct and "overstepping of authority."

Lagumdžija has long been criticized for his inadequate approach to problems in the judiciary, and he did not object to the procedure for electing the Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Milanko Kajganić, who mysteriously remained the sole candidate for that position. Although it was expected that the HJPC would decide to repeat the procedure, to at least give the appearance of a transparent process with multiple candidates, this did not happen.

Kajganić was the acting Chief Prosecutor at the time, and the BiH Prosecutor's Office could have functioned normally even if the competition had been repeated. Instead, Kajganić was elected with the approval of some foreign embassies.

However, everything that followed that election, from suspicious indictments, repeated indictments against the same people, unequal prosecution of war crimes, and avoidance of prosecuting certain individuals, shows that the HJPC under Lagumdžija's leadership cannot be a corrective force for the judiciary.

Some other HJPC members clearly stated today that Lagumdžija himself led to this situation.

Council member Sanin Bogunić supported Simeunović's stance, adding that he had previously spoken about poor communication and a very poor reaction from Council President Lagumdžija regarding the resolution of these situations.

"Mr. President, we have a communication problem, and I can no longer hide it; we have a problem with your inaction. You have never exerted pressure; you are simply not that kind of person, but your inaction has led to these situations," Bogunić said.

Mustafa Šabić said that the Council does not need Simeunović's resignation at this moment.

"Some things need to be suppressed, and I am swallowing some things, but for the progress of the state and the HJPC itself," he said.

Lagumdžija has already spent two and a half years of his four-year term as HJPC President. Although he has behaved more like an extra in a movie. Following the resignation of Vice-President Simeunović today, consideration is being given to the best solution for the HJPC to finally start doing what it is supposed to do by law.

Lagumdžija was unable to even articulate the HJPC's positions on the amendments to the Law on the HJPC, and he only did so a few days before its adoption today in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament.