Transparency International called for a detailed review of judges and prosecutors

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) today called for a detailed review of all current judicial officeholders after, as they stated, a discussion was initiated regarding inappropriate contacts by the president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (HJPC) and a reduced public trust in judicial institutions.

Transparency believes that a review, or vetting, is the only way to restore public trust.

Transparency's Executive Director Ivana Korajlić told the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network BiH (BIRN BiH) that the European Commission also recommended a review of the integrity of judicial officeholders, primarily their asset declarations and potential conflicts of interest.

"Much more detailed reviews of all current judicial officeholders are needed – not only in terms of their competencies – primarily their assets, but also in terms of their backgrounds and any potential connections they may have with organized crime and inappropriate political ties," states Korajlić.

She cites the successful example of Albania's vetting experience, which yielded results even before the review process began, with a large number of judicial officeholders resigning themselves because they did not want to be further compromised.

To implement this initiative in BiH, laws need to be amended, explains Korajlić, and an independent body should be established to conduct the reviews.

"If we were to give this to the HJPC now, we would achieve nothing; it is necessary for these to be people who are not from the judiciary, who do not come from politics, and who are experts and could conduct an independent and objective review. This is a big step that would certainly face resistance here, but it is necessary to start the initiative and create certain proposals for it to happen," states Korajlić.

Previous attempts to discuss accountability in the judiciary have mostly met with resistance, explains Korajlić.

"There is resistance and excuses that it would endanger the independence of the judiciary because there is simply no desire within the judicial community to be subjected to any kind of control, but this is the only way to clean up the judiciary and restore public trust," says Korajlić.

"The latest scandal related to a recording involving the president of the HJPC has only exposed the situation and led to the belief that no citizen will have trust in any judicial institution anymore. Not to mention that for years we have had political pressure and a refusal to prosecute cases of political corruption," believes Korajlić.

Meddžida Kreso, former president of the Court of BiH, says she welcomes Transparency International's efforts in BiH to help citizens of BiH regain their damaged trust in the judiciary, but is skeptical about potential results.

"I am skeptical that the reviews they are planning will yield results, because we saw in the recent 'potkivanje' (bribing) scandal what kind of explanations are given, how top officials mislead the public. The justifications are an insult to people's intelligence, and that's why I think they will do the same during the reviews that should be conducted," says Kreso.

She believes that action should be taken as in the earlier reform conducted by an independent international body when many judges resigned from their positions with financial compensation.

"Such a comprehensive reform, not just asset declarations, but reviews of contacts, reviews based on citizen complaints, taking all disciplinary reports that did not result in at least an investigation or those that were opened, that's how I see a comprehensive review of judicial officeholders, including, of course, their achieved results," states Kreso.

Branko Perić, a judge at the Court of BiH, believes it is difficult to create the legal prerequisites for reviews.

"Knowing our circumstances, it will be difficult to achieve such a law. It is something that is a long way off and simply an illusion. There are no policies that will seek to dismantle a system that has become theirs. This perfectly suits all policies in BiH. I think no one is complaining, no one cares that the judiciary has lost trust and its purpose. Therefore, the only solution is for the High Representative to use his powers, but he is clearly avoiding it. Everything else will take time and cause further erosion of the judicial system," says Perić.