Judges and Prosecutors Fail to Submit Asset Declarations, HJPC Suggests They First Take Office Then Undergo Verification

(Patria) - Complaints will be filed with disciplinary prosecutors this week against judges and prosecutors who have not submitted their asset declarations to the highest judicial body this year, it was stated at the session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC).

Sanin Bogunić, the President of the Council, said during his address to the media that dozens of complaints against serving judges and prosecutors who have not submitted asset reports will be forwarded to the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor.

“The Office will assess who is to be prosecuted and who is not,” said Bogunić, adding that proceedings will also be initiated against those individuals who have left the judiciary in the past period but were obliged to submit asset reports.

Misdemeanor proceedings will be conducted against them before the competent courts, as Bogunić stated.

The President of the umbrella judicial institution did not want to predict when the Department for Conducting Proceedings Based on Reports could complete the verification of asset declarations of judges and prosecutors. This long-awaited process has been delayed for months, after years of waiting for its actual start.

In an earlier interview with Detektor, Vesna Pirija, the head of this Department, stated that she hopes that by March 2026, the asset declarations of those who have been appointed but have not taken office will be verified. This Department has received more than 1,400 declarations and is obliged to additionally verify all those who are appointed to positions or promoted, as well as ten percent of random submissions.

Bogunić assessed Pirija's estimate as “quite arbitrary,” stating that the Council does not interfere in the operational work of the Department, but also that half of the 15 HJPC members have already undergone verification. Although he did not want to predict when the verification of asset declarations could be completed, Bogunić said that the Council had previously established that this method of verification would slow down the work of the judiciary in appointments and taking office.

“One of the amendments to the new HJPC law is that the holder of a judicial function takes office after appointment, and in the case of a negative verification, we would very easily dismiss them,” said Bogunić, explaining that this would enable the uninterrupted work of the judiciary.

The new Law on the HJPC was discussed during the first day of the HJPC session, but it was closed to the public.

During the first day of the session, a new external expert was also appointed to act in the Department for Conducting Proceedings Based on Reports. A judge from Bulgaria was appointed for a period of four years.

As Bogunić explained during his address to the media, two external experts had already been appointed in the Department earlier, one of whom was appointed, while the other was dismissed at his own request.

Alena Kurspahić Nadarević, the Chief Disciplinary Prosecutor, presented the semi-annual report of the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor during the first day of the session, stating that during the first six months, the Office received 402 complaints.

“Three-quarters of the complaints come from individuals interested in judicial and prosecutorial affairs, and from injured parties,” said Kurspahić Nadarević, adding that the Office initiated 37 cases ex officio.

The Chief Disciplinary Prosecutor stated that in the first six months of 2025, 12 disciplinary proceedings were initiated, nine against judges and three against prosecutors. It was noted that 23 proceedings were concluded in this period, and measures were imposed against 19 holders of judicial functions.

Of the 19 judges and prosecutors, 15 were punished with a salary reduction, three with a written warning, while one judge was dismissed from office.