Tegeltija at Parliament: I will start from the beginning, view the judiciary in continuity

SARAJevo, (Patria) - A thematic session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has begun in the Parliamentary Assembly building. 

The situation in the judiciary will be discussed, and the President of the HJPC Milan Tegeltija and members of the HJPC, Chief Prosecutor of BiH Gordana Tadić, and President of the Court of BiH Ranko Debevec are also present at the session.

Muriz Memić, the father of the murdered young man Dženan Memić, is also present and observing the work at the session, but will not be able to address it during the thematic session on the situation in the judiciary. Representatives will speak on his behalf.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Denis Zvizdić (SDA) stated that all points will be consolidated as they concern the Information on the work of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2017 and 2018, as well as the Discussion on the situation in the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the work of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the beginning of the session, guests were given the opportunity to speak for ten minutes, and Tegeltija spoke immediately.

He stated that at the previous session, they adopted the law on the termination of mandate of HJPC members, but that despite this, HJPC members are attending the session.

“We decided to appear at this session even before you did. We feel obligated, which is why we are here. We are committed to being partners with the authorities. I will start from the beginning. The situation in the judiciary must be monitored continuously. At the beginning of 2012, there were a total of 460,000 pending cases in the BiH judiciary; today, that number has been reduced to 288,000. 

When we talk about data, it is not only important that the number of cases has decreased, but also their age structure. Of course, efficiency needs to be even better, and we are taking measures to speed things up. What is most interesting and what is being debated are corruption cases. In 2015, there were 1,129 received reports, and in 2019, 957 received reports, which means the number of reports is decreasing. There were 772 unresolved cases at the end of 2019,“ said Tegeltija.

He also spoke about confirmed indictments and convictions, comparing acquittals and convictions.

„What is important when it comes to the judiciary in BiH is that it is the most complex in the region, because four independent systems live within the system. Synchronization, coordination, and action are hindered due to these circumstances,“ said Tegeltija.