SDP: Judiciary should be independent, but not untouchable

(Patria) - In light of recent scandals related to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, and especially regarding the one whose main actor is the HJPC President Milan Tegeltija, the Social Democratic Party of BiH reminds that as early as 2012, we stated that these were alienated centers of power that were accountable to no one, and that a healthy and just judiciary was a priority of priorities for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to move forward.

"At that time, we proposed a solution, modeled after neighboring countries, to have the Chief Prosecutor elected by Parliament, and to replace lawyers in the HJPC with university law professors. That proposal never even reached Parliament, as it was condemned by parts of the international community, for whom the HJPC is a project, as well as by media and non-governmental organizations that are today, seven years later, the loudest in condemning the situation in the judiciary and the method of electing judicial officeholders, which is the same as it was then.

We still believe that accountability should be introduced into the judicial system, that the judiciary should be independent, but not untouchable, that it is not right, nor normal, for those without experience to advance in the judicial system, for prosecutors whose indictments constantly fall to persist for years, for scandals that show how bad the system is to re-emerge, and for nothing to change.
We, in the SDP, believe that there is significant political influence on the judiciary and that judicial institutions are thereby contaminated, and that this is the main reason for the catastrophically low public trust in institutions that should be the guarantors of rights and justice in society. Through some of the scandals that occasionally appear in the public, political conflicts can be recognized that are reflected not only in the judiciary but also in the intelligence and security apparatus of the state," the SDP announced.

 A prerequisite for our country's progress is for the judiciary to finally become independent, the SDP reminds, and for police and intelligence structures to start serving the state and citizens, not politicians and their party or personal interests.

"We also propose and express our readiness to participate in a process that will, in the shortest possible time, result in the reform of legislation in order to restore public trust in the judicial system and for this extremely important state tool for combating crime and corruption to finally become capable of dealing with those it has bypassed for years," the SDP added.