HJPC changed its Rules of Procedure to allow prosecutor Džermin Pašić to apply for the head of the so-called Federal USKOK!

The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH amended its Rules of Procedure to enable state prosecutor Džermin Pašić to apply for the position of head of the so-called Federal USKOK. The "hero of the month", best known as the acting prosecutor in the "Respirators" case, and less known as the prosecutor due to whose actions several major drug lords close to the Škaljarski clan were released, is one of the favorites of the US Embassy, which wants to see Džermin Pašić at the head of the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Prosecutor's Office of the Federation of BiH.

Given that Džermin Pašić did not meet the conditions, the outgoing president of the HJPC, Halil Lagumdžija, in cooperation with international officials, decided to change the provisions of the HJPC Rules of Procedure, after which, according to the new provisions, a competition will be announced for prosecutors and the head of the Special Department.

“In the Rules of Procedure of the HJPC of BiH, in Article 49, a new paragraph is added after paragraph (7), which reads: 'For a candidate who is a deputy chief prosecutor, the period referred to in paragraph (5), point b) of this article shall include the continuous period of work in the position of a judicial office holder in the prosecutor's office in which the candidate holds the position of deputy',” it is stated in the HJPC decision made this week.

What does this mean in practice?

In point b) of paragraph 5 (Article 49), which has, in fact, been derogated by the new paragraph 7, it is stated that regardless of the points achieved according to the expertise criterion, the candidate will not be invited for an interview if they are “a holder of a judicial office, and have spent less than five years in the position from which they are applying, counting up to the day the deadline for submitting applications expires”.

According to this bolded provision, Džermin Pašić does not meet the conditions to apply for deputy chief federal prosecutor, i.e., head of the so-called USKOK of the Federation of BiH. Pašić was appointed deputy chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 8, 2024. This means he has only spent six months in the new position. As the Rules of Procedure stipulate that he must spend at least five years in that position to apply for a new position, the HJPC decided to amend the Rules of Procedure and add a new provision according to which the condition of "five years" does not apply to "deputy prosecutors".

“For a candidate who is a deputy chief prosecutor, the period referred to in paragraph (5), point b) of this article shall include the continuous period of work in the position of a judicial office holder in the prosecutor's office in which the candidate holds the position of deputy,” reads the new provision of the Rules of Procedure, which will come into force next week.

Therefore, with the new provision, Džermin Pašić will meet the conditions to apply for the head of the so-called USKOK. Only after the new provision of the Rules of Procedure comes into force will the HJPC announce the competition for the appointment of prosecutors and the head of the Special Department.

Let us remind you that the HJPC, after consultations with the US Embassy, annulled the competition for the selection and appointment of the head of the Special Department, prosecutors of the Federal USKOK. The reason was that the US Embassy was not satisfied with the candidates who made it to the shortlist. At the beginning of this year, during the competition procedure, state prosecutor Džermin Pašić withdrew his application for the position of head of the Federal USKOK and applied for the position of deputy chief prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office. At that moment, Pašić met the conditions because he had spent more than five years in the position from which he was applying (position of prosecutor at the BiH Prosecutor's Office). However, after being appointed deputy chief state prosecutor in April, Pašić no longer met the conditions, as he had spent much less than the prescribed five years in the new position.

Since Pašić withdrew his candidacy in the previous competition, and could not apply for the new competition due to not meeting the conditions, the HJPC decided to change the Rules of Procedure and thus open the door wide for the acting prosecutor in the "Respirators" case.

Istraga.ba has repeatedly written about Pašić's suspicious conduct in the Escobar case in Velika Kladuša, when he failed to arrest Dino Muzaferović, known as Cezar, one of the key figures in international drug trafficking. One of the protected witnesses was also killed in that case, and prosecutor Pašić was not disciplined. In addition, Pašić acted suspiciously in the case against drug lord Sani Al Murda, whose restaurant Dos Hermanos he never blocked. Pašić failed to arrest all of Murda's associates, including his sister Barbara Pekić. "Hero of the month" also acted suspiciously in the Derby case, when he allowed SIPA inspector Robert Ristić to return confiscated phones to persons suspected of smuggling 50 kilograms of cocaine before forensic examination. And, finally, Pašić's conduct was also suspicious when he ordered the arrest of drug dealer Admir Arnautović, known as Šmrk, only for him to escape from that case a few hours later. An indictment was never filed.