Politics Halts Investigative Committee: Public Trust in Judiciary Rapidly Declining

A. Čorbo-Zećo

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The House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, at the proposal of MP Damir Arnaut, formed an investigative committee on June 26, 2019, tasked with investigating the state of the judiciary.
By the same Conclusion, the House appointed its members by tasking the caucuses of representatives to submit the names of the committee members, not just proposals, and that a sufficient number of members, including entity representation, was submitted within the prescribed deadline. However, to this day, no session of this committee has ever been scheduled. Arnaut sent multiple reminders, but this body never convened. 

Marin Vukoja (HDZ), secretary of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, simply failed to fulfill his obligation from the Rules of Procedure, which stipulates that "The first session of the committee is convened by the secretary of the House."  

The investigative committee was established with the aim of advancing our country towards European Union membership, but politicians clearly do not care about resolving issues in the judiciary. It is clear to everyone that the current judicial leadership cannot be the driving force of changes and reforms. They are burdened by personal scandals, and it remains unclear to many, for example, how Milan Tegeltija, the president of the HJPC, emerged unscathed from the "Potkivanje" (Pot-making) affair! What is more, the victim of the affair is being prosecuted. 

In fact, Tegeltija was among the first to comment on the formation of the BiH Parliament's Investigative Committee, which will deal with examining the state of judicial institutions. According to Tegeltija, no one disputes partnership relations with the executive and legislative authorities, but...

“We have no dilemma about talking to the Parliament. But this investigative committee is truly unacceptable. It is a gross interference in the work of the judiciary. There must be boundaries. What kind of partnership is it when you talk about the judiciary, and no one invites you. We must point out the deviations that harm the judicial system. We must send a message to everyone on how to position ourselves in such a situation,” said Tegeltija. 

Public trust in the judicial system is rapidly declining due to systemic shortcomings, the remediation of which is the duty and obligation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and numerous international partners, including the US Embassy and the OSCE Mission, have welcomed the establishment of this Investigative Committee and emphasized that such a role of the Parliament is crucial for the system of checks and balances in a democratic society.