Transparency International: BiH Ministry of Justice Hiding Draft Law on BiH Court

(Patria) - The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina has refused to publish the Draft Law on the BiH Court, thus continuing to hide one of the most important reform laws in the EU integration process from the public. Transparency International in BiH requested the Draft, which has been removed from the agenda of the BiH Council of Ministers several times, but the relevant Ministry rejected the request, citing one of the numerous limitations from the new Law on Freedom of Access to Information. This very law was presented as one of the major successes achieved by BiH on its European path, although numerous civil society organizations warned that it would enable authorities to further hide information of public importance, which has been demonstrated precisely in this case.

Specifically, the Ministry of Justice in this case invoked the provision of the new Law that allows institutions to restrict access to information if its publication "could seriously disrupt the process of its development." However, the Ministry did not explain why the publication of the content could disrupt the process of adopting such an important law for which there is great public interest.

TI BiH believes that the Ministry should have published this law after the draft was finalized and invited the interested public to submit written proposals and comments. Namely, the initial Draft Law on BiH Courts was published on the e-consultation platform back in 2022, but it was later refined within a working group and coalition agreements, and has been changed, placed on, and removed from the agenda of the Council of Ministers multiple times. In the meantime, the name and scope of the law itself have changed. At the same time, there are numerous public debates about its content and provisions.

Instead of involving the public in the consultation process and enabling public debate on such an important issue, the draft law is being hidden from citizens, without adequate justification and a public interest test, while key decisions are made in closed coalition meetings. TI BiH has previously warned about the very harmful practice of the BiH Council of Ministers hiding the content of the most important laws, essentially changing them at the session itself, and the public only getting insight after these laws have already been sent to the parliamentary procedure.

This deprives the public of any information related to the process of adoption itself, as well as the content of this important regulation, which not only indicates a lack of transparency but also affects the quality of the solutions adopted and public trust.

TI BiH has previously requested all governments and parliaments in BiH to publish session materials, including draft laws, in order to enable constructive participation of civil society and other interested actors in policymaking.