The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), following the accepted appeal of the Disciplinary Prosecutor’s Office, imposed a 20 percent salary reduction on Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor Sasa Jovanovic for a period of six months due to multiple disciplinary violations.
Prosecutor Sasa Jovanovic was declared responsible by the final decision for “negligence or inattention in the performance of official duties”, “failure to follow the instructions of the superior prosecutor” and “intentionally providing false, misleading, or insufficient information in connection with job applications, disciplinary matters, matters of promotion and advancement in the service or any other matters that are within the competence of the Council”.
After considering the appeal of the Disciplinary Prosecutor’s Office, the HJPC concluded that the Second-instance Disciplinary Commission did not properly determine all the circumstances that are important for determining the type and amount of the measure, that is, it did not give them appropriate importance when deciding on a reduced salary by 15 percent for a period of six months to Sarajevo cantonal prosecutor Sasa Jovanovic.
“The Council deems the appeal complaint to be well-founded, which indicates that the imposed milder disciplinary measures did not have a positive effect on the defendant, that is, that the imposition of disciplinary measures did not have a corrective effect on the defendant, and that the defendant’s behavior, in addition to the fact that it is repeated behavior, has multiple consequences, which, in addition to being reflected on personal performance, also reflect on the defendant’s reputation and the ability of the defendant to professionally, conscientiously, diligently and efficiently perform the function of the prosecutor, and among other things, they also affect the overall results of the work,“ the decision states.
The second-instance disciplinary commission changed the first-instance decision, and imposed a 15 percent salary reduction on defendant Jovanovic for a period of six months. Prosecutor Jovanovic was declared responsible for three disciplinary violations by the first-instance disciplinary decision, and was sentenced to a 20 percent salary reduction for a period of six months.
Although the HJPC states that the Second Instance Disciplinary Commission made a good conclusion, taking into account the cooperation in the proceedings as a mitigating circumstance for Jovanovic, the decision states that the complaint of the Disciplinary Prosecutor’s Office in terms that it was given too much importance was founded.
Therefore, as stated in the decision, the Council considers as a whole that the Second Instance Commission failed to give due importance to the aggravating circumstances when imposing the disciplinary measures that were properly determined by the First Instance Commission.
This decision was published on the Council’s website as anonymized, but based on the number of the disciplinary case, it can be confirmed that it is a decision related to prosecutor Jovanovic, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
