Transparency International BiH: Amendments to the FBiH Conflict of Interest Law Only a Transitional Solution

The amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest in the authorities of the Federation of BiH, which are being discussed today by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, although representing a short-term step forward in terms of overcoming a two-year blockade in the application of conflict of interest regulations, will not ensure the independent and objective application of the Law in the long term, reports the Patria News Agency.

Namely, the Draft Law amending the Law on Conflict of Interest in the authorities of the FBiH provides that this law will also be applied by the Commission for Deciding on Conflict of Interest at the BiH level, which is composed of delegates in the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, as well as representatives of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of Fight against Corruption.

Transparency International BiH has continuously warned about the harmfulness of such a composition of the body responsible for determining and sanctioning conflicts of interest, due to the fact that it cannot be objective and independent if it is predominantly composed of parliamentarians, i.e., representatives of political parties. TI BiH reminds that European countries abandoned the practice of parliamentary commissions deciding on conflicts of interest long ago, precisely because it is a conflict of interest in itself.

Although the harmonization of the FBiH law with the Law on Conflict of Interest at the BiH level, after two years of complete stagnation, reintroduces oversight over the application of this law, solutions must be found that will ensure unified and independent oversight over the implementation of the conflict of interest law at all levels of government in the long term.

Given that the Law on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of Fight against Corruption already envisages the application of conflict of interest regulations for this Agency, Transparency International BiH believes that the most effective long-term solution would be to strengthen the Agency's competencies and capacities, and by unifying and harmonizing regulations, enable the Agency to apply these regulations consistently in one place. In the same process, it is necessary to expand the scope of individuals to whom conflict of interest laws apply and introduce more effective sanctions.

Finally, it is also concerning that both houses of the FBiH Parliament will vote on such important legal amendments within two days, without leaving room for public debate.  

TI BiH will therefore initiate the reform of the institutional and legal framework in the coming period, because the existing solutions, instead of preventing, actually promote conflicts of interest.