Judges and Prosecutors Seek New Deadline for Submitting Asset Reports, Even Question the Legal Basis

(Patria) - The attorney for all associations of judges and prosecutors in BiH, Nedim Ademović, said at a session of the HJPC that judges and prosecutors are requesting a two-month extension of the deadline, and reminded that the Council adopted the Instruction for filling out the asset and interest report form for judges, prosecutors and members of the HJPC at the end of July, and concluded that the 90-day deadline for submitting the initial report begins on October 1, 2024.

According to him, judges and prosecutors who were already in office before the adoption of these amendments must submit asset and interest reports for 2023 by December 31, 2024.

“We believe that the Council's acts cannot be applied at this moment until the end of February 2025. I am not speaking about the quality of the Law on the HJPC which prescribed this obligation, but about the by-laws adopted by this Council,” said Ademović, requesting an extension of the deadline until February 28.

He added that there is no legal basis for the application of the provisions from the Rulebook, because the application of the amendments to the Law on the HJPC has been postponed until February.

“The substantive legal obligations of judges and prosecutors that deeply interfere with human rights and freedoms must have full legitimacy in the standards that are applied,” said Ademović, stating that the rights to privacy and family life of holders of judicial functions have been violated because asset and interest reports also include household members.

Ademović said that none of the association members intend to prevent the regulation of asset reporting, but they have the right to say that “the obligation being imposed has no basis in the law that is in force.”

“Our request is that these acts adopted by the Council be postponed until a legal basis is created that will be in force,” said Ademović.

Council member Mustafa Šabić asked Ademović what legal steps he would take if the HJPC does not adopt the Association's request, to which he received no answer due to the lack of authorization for the attorney to disclose the strategy.

Davor Martinović, a Council member, said he supports this request from the association and does not consider it pressure.

“Everyone is afraid, not of reporting something, but of missing something because we have new provisions that are unknown. I am convinced that these people are afraid of making a mistake. I do not agree with the statements regarding legality and constitutionality,” said Martinović.

The Head of the Rule of Law Section at the EU Delegation to BiH, Alfredo Strippoli, said that transparency of the judicial system is key on BiH's path to the EU, which was also emphasized in the latest European Commission report.

At the proposal of the HJPC President Halil Lagumdžija, a conclusion was adopted that a meeting of Council members, the Legal Affairs Department and the Standing Committee on Legislation will be held on Tuesday, November 12, to discuss this topic. The Council will vote on this agenda item at the next session at the end of November.

The Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted in July, under an urgent procedure, the Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on the HJPC of BiH, whereby all persons appointed from March 23, 2024, to February 28, 2025, can assume office, and the verification of their asset and interest reports will be carried out after the establishment of the Department for Conducting Proceedings Based on Reports.

The agenda item discussing information about the meeting of the Working Group for the preparation of the Draft Law on the HJPC was again closed to the public.

Lagumdžija said in a statement to the media that he believes the process of drafting the Draft Law is insufficiently transparent, but that the Ministry of Justice requested it be closed to the public because some positions have not yet been harmonized.

“The Council has maintained its earlier positions on disputed issues. I have been saying for a long time that this process is not transparent enough; I realized that sometime in the spring. We have our own draft law and a good part of the work has been done,” said Lagumdžija.

He said he spoke with representatives of the European Commission who stated that they would ask the executive and legislative authorities to adopt the law by the end of the current year.

“Adoption of the law means it also passes through Parliament. I informally hear that the European Commission would be satisfied if the new law is adopted by the Council of Ministers and forwarded to Parliament by the new year,” said Lagumdžija.

He considers it negative that the Proposal for the new law from the Council of Ministers will first be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly, and only then to the Venice Commission for an opinion.

(Detektor.ba)