SDP: OSCE Analysis of the Work of the Prosecutor's Office and Court of BiH Represents a Direct Violation of BiH's Sovereignty

Regarding recent events related to the submission of the OSCE analysis, prepared by Judge Joanna Korner, on the processing of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Social Democratic Party of BiH considers unacceptable any interference in the work of any state institution, including the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of BiH, by international organizations that do not have a mandate to engage in such activities.

- This analysis represents a direct violation of BiH's sovereignty, given that no institution of BiH requested or permitted the conduct of such activities. We remind the OSCE mission in BiH that the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH is exclusively competent to establish criteria for the work of courts and prosecutor's offices, supervise and advise courts and prosecutor's offices regarding efficient management and leadership, and therefore, it is the only proper address for conducting analyses and improving the work of the judiciary in BiH.

Our country is evidently facing constant attacks on its sovereignty, primarily from political structures in the RS entity, and therefore the emergence of similar practices by certain international organizations and international officials working within them is particularly concerning.

Such gross interference by the OSCE in the competencies of the HJPC of BiH and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, as bodies also responsible for oversight of the work of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of BiH, is a very dangerous phenomenon that must cease immediately.

We in the SDP have long warned that constant pressures from various political and other domestic and some international actors are attempting to create an environment for the abolition of the state-building competencies of the Court of BiH, and thus, through the back door, carry out a tri-ethnic division of the judiciary in BiH.

It is precisely these competencies that are key to tackling organized crime and corruption, especially political corruption, which are fundamental prerequisites that must be met for BiH's full membership in the NATO alliance and the EU.

We call on the OSCE, if it truly wishes in good faith to improve the judicial system in BiH, to join the efforts of the opposition in the Federation of BiH, led by the SDP, to finally begin implementing the Law on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime, which the current authorities have decided to completely ignore, and in which the international community selflessly assists them - stated the SDP, writes Patria.