The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Rick Holtzapple, visited today, with his associates, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), and on that occasion spoke with members of the Presidency of the HJPC BiH.
Bearing in mind that Ambassador Rick Holtzapple assumed the duty of Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 2025, the visit was organized with the aim of getting acquainted with the leadership of the HJPC BiH, as well as to discuss future directions of cooperation between these two institutions.
At the beginning of the meeting, Vice President of the HJPC BiH Sanela Gorušanović Butigan highlighted the successful cooperation between the HJPC BiH and the OSCE Mission to BiH in numerous areas, such as improving the appointment procedures of judicial office holders, strengthening transparency, and cooperation related to the efficient processing of war crimes and organized crime and corruption cases, as well as other areas of cooperation.
The central topics of today’s visit were the preparation of the new Law on the HJPC of BiH and the issue of integrity of judicial office holders through the implementation of the provisions of the current Law on the HJPC of BiH.
Ambassador Holtzapple emphasized that he was very interested in meeting with the leadership of the HJPC of BiH, given the high level of cooperation that has been established with the HJPC of BiH in the past period, as well as the fact that the Council is an important pillar of government and one of the key institutions for strengthening public trust in the judiciary. He emphasized that he appreciates the professionalism and dedication of the HJPC of BiH and the entire judicial community in facing the challenges that have been facing them in the past period.
