Vukoja is not a bogeyman but a candidate without judicial experience, promoted to top rank by incompetent 'Trojka'!

By Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

If Marin Vukoja, the 'Trojka' and HDZ candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH, had been a candidate for judge at any municipal, cantonal or entity level, or the Court of BiH, there would not have been even a theoretical possibility of him being elected. Because, in every one of those elections, which is logical and normal, experience is scored, and the public in FBiH knows very well that he has no such experience.

Therefore, the answer to the question of who would be on the shortlist if the HJPC had evaluated candidates for judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH is clear. Vukoja would have no chance. It should also be noted that, for example, when electing judges of the Constitutional Court of FBiH, an opinion on the candidates is sought, but these rules do not apply to the state Constitutional Court.

Due to the way judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH are elected and the farce with the least competent staff, it can be rightly concluded that it is easier to become a judge in the Constitutional Court of BiH than in some municipal court. And since there is talk of a European path every day, the question arises whether in any European country someone without a day of judicial experience can be appointed as a constitutional judge.

This should also be stated by the Opinion of the Venice Commission, which Željko Komšić requested in his capacity as Chairman of the Presidency of BiH. The DF Club has submitted an initiative to the parliamentary procedure to postpone the election of a judge until the Opinion of the Venice Commission, which meets on June 21 and 22, arrives. However, HDZ, 'Trojka' and their satellites are clearly in a hurry, so they decided to try to complete one of the most dangerous procedures for the future of the country at the session on May 28. Not because Vukoja is dangerous, but because he is loyal to the HDZ and will undoubtedly follow their instructions in decision-making. 

Given that the 'Trojka' deputies are telling us various stories, washing their consciences for endangering the interests of the state, let's clarify what the scoring would look like if the HJPC had done it: 

- 1 point for a candidate who meets the minimum work experience, which is at least three years of work after the bar exam;

- 3 points for a candidate who is a legal associate or advisor in a court;

- 5 points for a candidate who is a prosecutor or lawyer;

- 8 points for a candidate who is a judge of the same or higher level;

What would have happened if the HJPC had done the ranking instead of the 'Trojka's' obedient followers? Of course, the ranking list would be diametrically different. It is also a fact that the commission that ranked so that Vukoja is a reflection of the complete absence of law, meaning that high school students, people with technical and other sciences that have no connection to law, decided on the judge of the Constitutional Court. 

It is clear that according to the HJPC ranking, other candidates would have more points than Vukoja, because that ranking gives preference to relevant experience. A clear example is the election of a judge of the Court of BiH, where the minimum is eight years of judicial experience, and following these norms, a judge of the Constitutional Court should have even more.

'Trojka' and HDZ are consciously going for the attempt to elect Vukoja before the Opinion of the Venice Commission, and they have serious assistance in Aleksandra Martinović and the Constitutional Court of the Federation of BiH, which has been ignoring the submissions of deputies regarding the unconstitutionality and the work of the House of Representatives outside of the Rules of Procedure for months. 

These decisions should have been primary in the work of the Constitutional Court of FBiH, but even after requests for accelerated resolution, the Constitutional Court of FBiH has not yet considered them. And here we come to a classic example of how politically loyal judges act. Because, according to information we heard from several deputies, a significant number of judges of the Constitutional Court of FBiH are controlled by HDZ and 'Trojka', and they repay them by ignoring requests concerning the constitutionality of the work of the House of Representatives.

It is clear that the silence of the Constitutional Court of FBiH can cause irreparable damage and open the possibility that decisions of the House of Representatives will one day be subject to a constitutionality check because that court failed to react in time and check whether there are constitutional and procedural anomalies in the work of the House of Representatives.

The damage will be particularly irreparable after the potential appointment of Vukoja. That is, serious damage will also occur to democracy if the autocratic version of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives of FBiH, which limits the freedom of speech of deputies, which is an unprecedented nonsense even in totalitarian states, continues to be used. Damage can also occur to the functioning of the Parliament of FBiH if there is a long delay in decision-making, and it is determined that it was constituted outside of procedural rules.

Nermin Nikšić, Elmedin Konaković, and Edin Forto will be primarily responsible if they hand over control of the Constitutional Court of BiH to HDZ. The 'Trojka' deputies will no longer be able to face the people because they agreed to elect Vukoja as the HDZ's political constitutional judge. And they must know this, because no matter how much reward they hope for supporting Vukoja, their mandate ends in two years, and afterwards they will return to the provinces of mediocrity.

Institutional responsibility, if the incompetent Vukoja is elected according to unconstitutional and Rules of Procedure contrary norms, lies with Aleksandra Martinović and the judges of the Constitutional Court. Responsibility will also lie with the members of the leadership of the House of Representatives, whoever they may be at the given moment, but also with the members of the Commission for Elections and Appointments who eventually support the incompetent Vukoja being the only candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Perhaps the Sarajevo tricolors are counting on Vukoja's support to buy them time with Čović, but let them look around and at the clock carefully, it will be easier for them to understand that this support means their collapse into history as the political group that has caused the greatest damage to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina since Dayton to this day!