Judiciary as a political weapon for settling scores

By: A. Vrabac

Scandals, criminal charges, compromising of top officials at the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, Court of BiH, HJPC are shaking the judicial system of BiH. With such a judiciary, it is clear that BiH cannot become a candidate country for EU membership, let alone join the EU.

The latest report by the State Department states that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is open to foreign investment, but investors must overcome endemic corruption, complex legal and regulatory frameworks and government structures, non-transparent business procedures, insufficient protection of property rights, and a weak judicial system. The judicial system is precisely the weakest link in BiH society. Citizens do not trust the judiciary, and the scandals that have plagued it for years only further confirm this claim.

From the report of the EU independent expert Reinhard Priebe on the judiciary in BiH (December 2019), it is clear that the system must change. Criticisms of the inefficient work of prosecutor's offices, a negligible number of corruption cases and serious forms of crime, lengthy court proceedings, and a small number of convictions, and the political subordination of the judicial system have been recognized as the main problems of BiH's judiciary. In this way, the judiciary is very often used as a (political) weapon by interest groups. Although the heads of judicial institutions should be apolitical, in BiH, it is an open secret that advancement in the judicial hierarchy is solely based on party preference. The same applies to the heads of police and security agencies, which should be tools for the judiciary in prosecuting all forms of crime and illegal activities.

The fact stated by Priebe in the report that "prosecutors do not prosecute crime even when they have evidence for it" is devastating.

Even when there are numerous reports of corruption or other criminal offenses, prosecutor's offices do not do their job. We witness reports lying in prosecutors' drawers for years and being "pulled out" for daily political needs. Political parties take sides and "defend" one or the other, which can be clearly read from their statements. 

All heads of state judicial institutions Gordan Tadić (Prosecutor's Office of BiH), Ranko Debevec (Court of BiH), Milan Tegeltija (HJPC) are under criminal charges that no one is prosecuting. One of the cases that showed how the system is abused is the "Potkivanje" case, which documented how Tegeltija talks with the complainant about a case being conducted in the Prosecutor's Office of KS and that he will see what can be done. Because of that recording, the complainant is the suspect, the SIPA inspector who connected him with Tegeltija is also a suspect, and Tegeltija is a witness, without any disciplinary responsibility because the disciplinary complaint and request for his suspension due to inappropriate contact were rejected.

And while the drama between the Prosecutor's Office of BiH and the Court of BiH is ongoing these days regarding the cases "Ranko Debevec" and "Osmica," a new report by the European Commission on the state of the judiciary is in preparation.

It is expected that the need for reform of the HJPC will be highlighted again so that it truly serves the interests of the judiciary and not a network of political patrons, as Priebe stated.

Two unresolved cases of the murder of young men in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, in which the judiciary was brutally abused, are like a noose around the neck of the judiciary in BiH. In the Dženan Memić case, a court process for a non-existent traffic accident has been ongoing for years, while at the same time, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH is conducting an investigation into organized crime, which includes several individuals from the judicial and police sectors.

And while a disciplinary procedure was conducted against the then chief prosecutor of KS, Dalida Burzić, for two violations in the Memić case, the HJPC appointed her as a judge of the Court of BiH.

The second case is even more devastating, as there has been no investigation for the murder of young David Dragičević for 900 days, whose parents left Banja Luka due to pressure, and eventually transferred the remains of their son to Austria. 

The lawyer for both families, Ifet Feraget, knows best what has been going on for more than 4 and a half years that he has been with the Memić family. And instead of being recognized as a fighter for justice (which he is for some honorable people in the judiciary), he is being put on a "pillory" in that system.

Although the international community has been helping the work of the judiciary for years, they are increasingly asking themselves where the results are. Although they state that it is up to the citizens to change the system and demand it from their political leaders, perhaps for a start, the international community should cut off the financial flows, and then it would be seen who works for justice and who works for a salary.