Court of BiH overturns verdict: VSTV Rules of Procedure are in line with the law!

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

The Appellate Administrative Panel of the Court of BiH, composed of Mirsada Džindo, Zvjezdana Antonović, and Redžib Begić, granted the request for legal protection and overturned the verdict of the administrative panel for administrative matters of the Court of BiH from June 12, 2024, by rejecting the request of the plaintiff Arben Murtezić for an assessment of the constitutionality of the general act, specifically Article 49, Paragraph 5, points b and c of the Rules of Procedure of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council.

Verdict of the Appellate Administrative Panel

We remind you that the verdict of the administrative disputes panel of the Court of BiH granted the request for an assessment of the legality of the general act and repealed the provision related to competitions, specifically concerning the method of selecting candidates for judicial office holders, implying discrimination in the interview process.

This refers to Article 49, Paragraph 5, points b and c.

(5) Regardless of the points achieved based on the criterion of expertise, a candidate will not be invited for an interview if:

a) their blood relative in the direct line without limitation, in the collateral line up to the fourth degree, or spouse, or partner, or relative by affinity, or relative of a partner, up to the second degree, is employed at the court or prosecutor's office for which they are applying for the position of a judicial office holder;

b) they are a judicial office holder, and have spent less than five years in the position from which they are applying, calculated up to the deadline for submitting applications;

c) they are the president of a court or chief prosecutor, and have applied for a vacant position during the term of their first appointment;

d) they are covered by the rules from Article 48 of these Rules of Procedure, calculated up to the deadline for submitting applications.

Arben Murtezić, director of the Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation, filed a request at the end of last year to assess the legality of the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of this judicial instance, stating that regardless of the points achieved based on the criterion of expertise, a candidate will not be invited for an interview if they are a judicial office holder and have spent less than five years in the position from which they are applying, calculated up to the deadline for submitting applications; or if they are the president of a court or chief prosecutor and have applied for a vacant position during the term of their first appointment.

Murtezić believed that these provisions discriminated against judges and prosecutors compared to lawyers, notaries, and other legal professionals who are not judicial office holders.
However, the Appellate Panel overturned the verdict after the Advocate General of BiH, Almina Pilav, filed a request for legal protection.

The reasoning states that the objection of the defendant and the requester of legal protection regarding the lack of active legal standing of Arben Murtezić to initiate the specific administrative dispute is well-founded.

"Therefore, the Appellate Administrative Panel granted the request for legal protection and overturned the contested decision by rejecting Murtezić's request because he is not authorized to initiate proceedings for assessing the legality of a general act that does not violate his rights or direct personal interest based on the law," it is stated.