Deputies of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska, with 45 votes in favor, two against and 16 abstentions, adopted the Draft Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of the Republika Srpska.
The vote on the law was preceded by hours of debate, with clashes between government and opposition representatives, as well as accusations by the “Together with BiH”parliamentary group that the law violates the BiH Constitution.
The draft law on the HJPC, adopted at the suggestion of MPs, envisages the establishment of the HJPC of the Republika Srpska, and regulates its work, organization, competencies, powers, conditions and mandate for performing judicial and prosecutorial functions.
The competencies of the HJPC include, inter alia, the appointment and conduct of disciplinary proceedings and the dismissal of judges, judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republika Srpska, and include public prosecutors in the RS and their deputies.
It is stipulated that the Council is an autonomous and independent body in the RS, consisting of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Departments, and will have 11 members and the status of a legal entity.
It will be financed from the RS budget and has the task of ensuring an independent, impartial, efficient and professional judiciary. The composition of the Council, as a rule, will reflect the composition of the people of BiH and gender representation in BiH.
The draft law on the HJPC has been submitted for public discussion, which will be conducted within 60 days.
The National Assembly of the RS also adopted the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Republic Administration – by urgent procedure, which envisages the establishment of the entity Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices.
