HJPC concerned by EU threat to suspend financial aid, who is exerting pressure

(Patria) - Members of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the first day of a two-day session, unanimously adopted amendments to the HJPC Rulebook regarding reporting on assets and interests due to obligations towards the Personal Data Protection Agency, but not amendments related to the engagement of external experts.

At the session, a proposal was adopted that Council members should decide on the engagement of external experts to monitor the Asset Declaration Department after sending a letter to Brussels requesting harmonisation of amendments, after which they would proceed to vote on the rulebook.

HJPC President Sanin Bogunić said he supports all amendments proposed by the Standing Committee on Legislation and the Department for Conducting Proceedings Based on Reports, Detektor reports.

"However, in the introduction itself, I said that we had a conversation with a representative of the European Union, with the ambassador, who warned us that, in their view, we have not yet fulfilled another obligation, which is sending letters to the EU Delegation, i.e., Brussels, because this infamous annex was concluded with him," Bogunić said.

According to his words, the annex was adopted last year electronically, under pressure and without considering the objections and proposals of Council members, and which, according to the final provision, obliges sending letters for harmonisation with the amendments to the Rulebook, which Bogunić said resembles an international treaty.

Council member Davor Martinović said that the annex stems exclusively from the article of the rulebook they adopted, which pertains to the modalities of determining and proposing external experts.

"Only after amending the rulebook do we reach a situation where we change the annex, because it stems from the rulebook, and there are no dilemmas here," Martinović said, explaining that it is not an international treaty or agreement.

Bogunić said that the Council received a warning from the Brussels Directorate and a reminder that they must fulfil the obligation to send the letter. Martinović expressed concern over such warnings.

"What concerns me as a lawyer are the letters from the EU Delegation that we received last night from Brussels. I naively thought that the foundations of the EU are the rule of law, respect for the legal state, and not a continuous sophisticated threat: 'we will cut financial aid, you are jeopardising our cooperation,'" Martinović said.

He explained that after the reaction, a Council member received an apology.

"In none of those letters did I see an argument that this annex is in accordance with the law, that the rulebook is in accordance with the law, nor in any letter did it say that our proposals are contrary to the law. We are only working, harmonising the rulebook with the law," Martinović said.

Council member Sedin Idrizović said he supports the proposals for adoption, but also proposes harmonising the rulebook with the Law on the HJPC.

"That rulebook, in this part which is incorporated into the annex, is not in accordance with the Law on the HJPC; in that part, the rulebook is illegal. The only legal solution is to harmonise the rulebook with the law," Idrizović said.

Council members adopted a proposal approving the request of external experts to submit all disciplinary complaints related to asset verification. The experts' request seeking the nomination of council members to a management board that would be formed regarding the team of experts for external monitoring was not adopted.

This discussion came after the European Union Delegation sent a letter to the Council with additional information about Peter Bach, the proposed candidate for external monitoring of the work of the Department for Conducting Proceedings Based on Reports, as well as monitoring disciplinary proceedings. Instead of reaching an agreement on the appointment of an external expert to monitor the Department's work, the HJPC considered the compliance of the Rulebook with the Law on the HJPC.

It was previously reported that the proposed amendments from the HJPC could call into question the purposefulness of the entire observer system.

External experts have already been appointed in the Department and have published reports on the Department's work. The latest published report concluded that the Department faces a shortage of employees, difficulties in verifying assets abroad, and delays by judges and prosecutors in submitting their reports. In its response to this report, the HJPC accuses the European Union of excessive interference in the verifications themselves.

The work of external associates has been funded by the European Union since July 2025. External experts have a mandate to monitor disciplinary proceedings arising from asset and interest procedures, but do not provide suggestions on final decisions. The EU is one of the partners with which the HJPC has long-standing cooperation and assistance.