Over the past few days, the citizens of BiH have again raised their voices demanding an accountable justice system; they are critical of the work of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the BiH Prosecutor’s office, and rightfully so.
The HJPC was created with the assistance of the International Community, including by my office and with the help of international legal experts, as an independent body. Unfortunately, as time passes, instead of brining the standard of justice in BiH to a higher level, the integrity of the judicial system has increasingly come into question with one scandal after the other.
I am glad that the letter sent to the HJPC by the U.S. Embassy, the EU and the OSCE received so much public attention. It points, based on facts, to current problems in the functioning of this body, which need to be tackled. The HJPC as an institution, and its individual members, must address them expeditiously.
Foremost, the Council has to perform its primary role to appoint professionally competent judges and prosecutors in a reasonable amount of time, and not let other outside forces influence this process. Specifically, it must take the necessary steps for the appointment of Constitutional Court judges at the entity level. When the HJPC does not perform these responsibilities in a timely manner nor ensure that standards of ethic are maintained in the judicial system, the consequences for the rule of law are serious and detrimental and affects the whole country.
The HJPC members must be fully aware of the consequences of their actions, that the HJPC and the justice sector run the risk of becoming a major impediment to a better future for BiH. and citizens are fully aware where the responsibility lies.