Chief Prosecutor of the RS Prosecutor's Office Mahmut Švraka dismissed, Miodrag Bajić appointed as acting chief

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The HJPC BiH, at its session held on 20 October 2022, upheld the appeal of the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC BiH, and overturned the decision of the Second-Instance Disciplinary Commission for Prosecutors of 25 August 2022 regarding the imposed disciplinary measure.

Thus, the defendant Mahmut Švraka, Chief Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republika Srpska, was imposed a disciplinary measure of transfer from the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republika Srpska to the position of prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the RS for committing disciplinary violations.

"In the proceedings in question, the Second-Instance Disciplinary Commission of the HJPC BiH for Prosecutors, deciding on the appeal of the defendant, overturned the Decision of the First-Instance Disciplinary Commission of the HJPC BiH for Prosecutors regarding the imposed disciplinary measure, in such a way that the defendant Švraka Mahmut, Chief Prosecutor of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office, was imposed a disciplinary measure of a 30% salary reduction for a period of six months for the said actions and committed disciplinary violations," stated the HJPC BiH.

The First-Instance Disciplinary Commission of the HJPC BiH for Prosecutors, deciding on the disciplinary indictment of the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC BiH, rendered a Decision establishing the disciplinary responsibility of the defendant for failing to act in accordance with the relevant provisions of the TCMS rulebook and the Council's conclusion of 17 and 18 December 2014, by which the HJPC BiH tasked chief prosecutors in BiH to ensure the assignment of cases to all prosecutors via TCMS in their institutions, and for failing to take necessary actions to eliminate any technical obstacles to case assignment by the automatic selection system.

"Thus committing disciplinary violations of 'negligence or carelessness in the performance of official duties' and 'failure, without justified reasons, to act in accordance with decisions, orders or requests of the Council' of the Law on the HJPC BiH," stated the HJPC BiH.

As stated by the HJPC, contrary to the provisions of the Law on Protection of Classified Information of BiH, the defendant failed to initiate the procedure of personal security checks for employees of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office, and failed to act in accordance with the Council's conclusion of 17 July 2019, which "obliges all judicial institutions in BiH to urgently implement all obligations and measures prescribed by the Law on Protection of Classified Information of BiH.

"Although he personally participated in the adoption of the said conclusion as a member of the Council, thus committing disciplinary violations of 'negligence or carelessness in the performance of official duties' and 'failure, without justified reasons, to act in accordance with decisions, orders or requests of the Council' of the Law on the HJPC BiH," state from the HJPC BiH.

They concluded that the defendant was imposed a disciplinary measure of transfer from the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office to the position of prosecutor of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office for the said disciplinary violations.

The Council's decision is final.

The Council elected Miodrag Bajić as acting Chief Prosecutor of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office, who will perform this duty until the completion of the competition procedure for the election of the Chief Prosecutor of the Republika Srpska Public Prosecutor's Office.