Transparency: Lustration the only solution for chaotic state of the judiciary

BANJA LUKA, (Patria) - Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) believes that all allegations of involvement in corruption and inappropriate contacts by the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (VSTS) with parties must be investigated as soon as possible, and that mechanisms for verifying the integrity of officeholders in the judiciary must be urgently established, the NGO announced, reports Patria.

Increasing allegations of inappropriate contacts by judicial officeholders, compromised appointments of judges and prosecutors, as well as infighting within the judicial community, have led, according to TI BiH, to a complete loss of trust in the judiciary, which is expected to be independent and autonomous in its work. They point out that for several years, TI BiH has received the largest number of corruption reports precisely concerning the judiciary, along with state administration and education, and has itself filed a significant number of reports against judicial officeholders for violating ethical codes and the Law on VSTS.

Furthermore, the non-prosecution of political corruption reliably indicates the presence of political influence on the judiciary, Transparency believes.

They recall that in its opinion on BiH's application for EU membership, the European Commission pointed out that the current framework does not guarantee a sufficient degree of independence, autonomy, and accountability for judicial bodies, and that reforms are necessary in both the Constitution and the Law on VSTS. TI BiH believes that the only solution is lustration, i.e., a detailed review of judicial officeholders, following the Albanian model, because, as they state, only in this way will political and undue pressures, registered in almost all reports on the state of the judiciary, be eliminated.

The lustration advocated by TI BiH would entail amendments to systemic laws, as well as a different composition and role of regulatory bodies that would, through multiple procedures, have to thoroughly check not only the competencies of current judges and prosecutors but also their financial data, as well as personal backgrounds and connections, in terms of possible links to organized crime. Lustration should be carried out by legal experts who have not held positions in judicial bodies in recent years, and whose moral and professional qualities guarantee impartiality in their work.

The goal of lustration is to remove all judicial officeholders from the judiciary who are unsuitable for it due to a lack of competencies, proven links to criminal activities, or other inappropriate connections with political officeholders. This mechanism is appropriate for transitional democracies as a measure that supports the integrity of key sectors such as the police, judiciary, army, and public administration, and through which all officeholders in these countries are subjected to additional checks.

The reputation of the judiciary, as highlighted by Transparency International in BiH, has been so damaged by serious allegations and accusations of political influence, corruption, and inappropriate behavior by the highest judicial officeholders that a comprehensive and objective review of all current judicial officeholders, conducted by special, independent regulatory bodies, is the only way to eliminate all doubts about the judiciary's corruption and stop its further downfall.
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