Reactions after election of state prosecutor: 'It is worrying that Tadić does not see systemic corruption in BiH'

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Gordana Tadić is the new chief state prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was decided after the discussion and vote of the members of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. Tadić was elected with nine votes 'for', two against, and two abstentions.

Various reactions have arrived following Tadić's election. The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed the appointment of the new chief prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, stated Bruce G. Berton, Head of Mission.

"The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes the appointment of the new chief prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office. We hope that the chief prosecutor will be dedicated to ensuring a strong, transparent, independent, and efficient judiciary in BiH, ready to address the challenges affecting the country's stability, including corruption," Berton said.

On the other hand, the president of the HJPC himself, Milan Tegeltija, stated that none of the candidates for chief state prosecutor fully met the criteria, but the best of those offered was elected.

"None of the candidates are perfect, but we are choosing from what we are offered and what we have... There is no guarantee for anyone that they will be successful, but what we can do is monitor what was offered in their work program, and they must adhere to it, and we will monitor that," said Tegeltija, among other things.

BIRN editor Denis Džidić reminded the Patria agency that prosecutor Tadić stated in her presentation that the situation regarding corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not systemic and that the Prosecutor's Office can handle it, although the problem of systemic corruption, Džidić warns, is very much present in Bosnian society.

"So, the fact that the chief state prosecutor in BiH does not see systemic corruption in the country as a problem is truly worrying," said Džidić, whose media outlet has been monitoring the work of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region for years.

"In 2018, the State Prosecutor's Office filed only six indictments for corruption, three of which were for corruption within that institution itself," said Džidić, who is not optimistic about Tadić's election to a six-year term at the head of the State Prosecutor's Office.
Lawyer Duško Tomić previously told Federal Television that if Tadić were elected chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, "we would have Dragan Čović as chief prosecutor."