If the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH) does not withdraw the amended rulebook on the engagement of external experts who supervise the verification of assets of judges and prosecutors, it is very certain that it could be left without the financial support that the European Union allocated for this process. The HJPC claims that in that case they would hire experts financed from the budget of BiH institutions.
Detektor unofficially learns from its sources that a decision has already been made in Brussels on the possible termination of funding for the supervision of the property of judges and prosecutors, if the HJPC does not repeal the controversial ordinance in the meantime.
The HJPC states that they have not received an official reaction from the European Commission, and when asked how they will act in the event that the EU decides to suspend funding, they answer that “they do not base their actions on speculations and assumptions that appear in the public space from unofficial sources”.
At the same time, they emphasize that the “Department for conducting proceedings based on reports, which is responsible for checking the property of judges and prosecutors, is fully financed from the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
“None of the Department’s employees, material resources, premises, IT equipment, or cooperation with other institutions were financed by the funds of international partners,” the HJPC states.
They add that “the eventual hypothetical termination of the partnership cooperation of the European Commission with the HJPC in the implementation of the provisions on integrity could refer exclusively to experts who have an advisory role to the Department for the implementation of procedures based on reports”.
At its session on April 15, the HJPC adopted amendments to the rulebook in the part that refers to the external monitoring of the Department for the verification of assets of holders of judicial functions and the way of engaging external experts to monitor their work. The members of the Council decided that external experts will be chosen through a public competition, and in the commissions two members will be appointed by the EU and one by the HJPC.
They made the decision without consulting the EU.
According to the Law on the HJPC, they say in this judicial institution, the HJPC is the only one competent to hire experts who have the authority to advise employees of the Department. They add that the European Commission finances exclusively those experts who do not participate in checks, but advise the Department if they deem it necessary and if the Department asks them for advice.
Valentina Superti, director for the Western Balkans in the European Commission’s General Directorate for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, previously expressed her concern in letters to the President of the HJPC, Sanin Bogunić, regarding the draft amendments to the rulebook, warning of possible consequences for the efficiency, credibility and independence of the external monitoring system.
The HJPC says that they are satisfied with the cooperation with the European Commission so far and state that in four publicly published reports international experts rated the Department’s work as extremely high quality and professional.
They say that it would be a pleasure for the currently engaged experts to continue their engagement, since there is mutual satisfaction with the cooperation and quality of work.
The HJPC says that in the event of a possible suspension of funding for advisory positions, which, according to their claims, do not perform essential tasks essential for the Department’s functionality, they will “ensure that, in a transparent procedure, based on legal authorizations, in the best public interest, they hire experts who will be financed from the budget of BiH institutions”.
They add that the advisory role of international experts was particularly important in the initial phase of establishing work processes, while today, after a year of work, the Department functions independently and achieves notable results. They also remind that the Law on the HJPC stipulates that the engagement of experts lasts four years from the beginning of the application of the law, and that the transition period is already in its last phase.
Ivana Korajlić from Transparency International BiH assesses that in this way the expert mechanism that was supposed to ensure independent external supervision over the work of the Department for checks and the functioning of the entire system is meaningless.
According to her, the goal was for European experts, delegated by the European Union, to carry out independent supervision and monitoring of the work of the Department, especially with regard to the efficiency of procedures, bearing in mind that the system of checking property records is just being established.
Korajlić, however, warns that there is strong resistance in the judicial community, along with simultaneous attempts by the HJPC to increase control over the process and to somehow close the possibility of this type of monitoring by determining who will be the external experts and what this type of monitoring will look like. She believes that such an approach is also problematic in relations with the European Union, which has invested significant funds in order for the basic functions of the HJPC to function in general and for these oversight mechanisms to be established.
“It is obvious that there is an effort to close the HJPC from any independent supervision and to answer to itself,” says Korajlić.
She adds that external supervision is important, not only for independence and objectivity, but also for transparent reporting and work analysis.
The HJPC points out that the Department’s results so far are proof of its success, stating that it was established in a short period of time and that the assets of more than 130 judges, prosecutors and members of the HJPC have been checked so far, and that hundreds of reports on the assets and interests of holders of judicial functions are already publicly available on the Council’s website.
They state that successful cooperation with domestic institutions and international partners has been established, which is why the Department’s work and the results of asset checks represent, as they state, one of the most successful reform processes in the judiciary of BiH.
Detektor previously wrote about the reports of external EU experts, in which they warned that the Department for Checking the Assets of Judges and Prosecutors continues to work with insufficient capacity, and that the refusal of household members to provide information further slows down the work.
The HJPC then responded with criticism, stating that the European Union interferes too much in the verification process itself, Federalna writes.
