In the coming period, the start of the trial of the suspended president of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Ranko Debevec, is expected, it was said at the session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH two days ago. The Department for Improving the Efficiency and Quality of Work in the Courts has been monitoring since the beginning of the year six cases that are in the trial phase, three of which have been completed in the first instance procedure, it was pointed out during the presentation of the Information on the handling of cases conducted against holders of judicial functions for the first six months of 2025, it was announced by the HJPC BiH.
Ongoing cases: Mihajlovic, Fazlagic, Pasic, Andjic, and Djosanovic
Cases have been opened before the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo against former judge Lejla Fazlagic Pasic, before the Municipal Court in Sarajevo against prosecutor Bozo Mihajlovic, and before the Municipal Court in Gradacac against judges Jozo Andjic and Momir Djosanovic.
“In the first case, we had a situation where the case was transferred from one judge to another, and in the meantime, there was a request for the transfer of jurisdiction to the Special Department of the Supreme Court of the Federation. However, in September, the case was returned to the Cantonal Court again, so there was no action taken in the previous period,” it is stated by the Department.
The case against suspended prosecutor Bozo Mihajlovic stagnated due to the change of judge.
“In the period of six months, all hearings that were scheduled were also postponed. Only towards the end of the half-year period, an order was issued for the medical examination of the accused because that was the reason for the cancellation of the main hearings,” it was said.
New cases against holders of judicial functions
A representative of the Department said that in the coming period, they expect three more cases against holders of judicial functions.
“Two have already entered the main hearing phase; these are the case against Judge Mirela Malicbegovic and the case against suspended judge Katica Jozak Madjar. We have a case that will most likely now enter the main hearing phase against the former president of the Court of BiH,” said the representative of the Department.
Debevec seeks annulment of the indictment
BiH media previously reported that Debevec filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court of BiH in which he requested that the decision confirming the indictment for abuse of office or authority be annulled, which the Constitutional Court of BiH has not yet ruled on.
The Council adopted a guide for reporting on the actions of prosecutors’ offices and courts, which was created in cooperation between the HJPC and the OSCE Mission to BiH in order to improve understanding and ensure more accurate and comprehensive reporting to the public on the work of judicial institutions.
“‘Judiciary and Media – A Guide for Reporting on the Work of Prosecutors’ Offices and Courts’ was created as a result of the implementation of activities of the communication strategy action plan of the Council for the period 2022-2025,” said Dalila Hadzic from the Public Relations Department of the HJPC.
The authors of the guide are the prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Livno Canton, Danko Rimac, president of the Cantonal Court in Siroki Brijeg, Katica Artukovic, and director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of BiH, Denis Dzidic.
“The guide consists of three chapters. The first explains the sequence and rules of procedures under the jurisdiction of the prosecutors’ offices,” said Hadzic, noting that this chapter is important because of the great interest of the media and the number of inquiries they send to prosecutors’ offices in the context of ongoing investigations.
The second chapter, as stated, refers to court proceedings and the challenges journalists face during reporting, and the third provides concrete recommendations for professional reporting on proceedings conducted before prosecutors’ offices and courts. In the coming period, an event is planned at which the guide will be presented, after which it will be published on the HJPC website and delivered to all media in BiH.
European Union (EU) support and the start of work of new associates
The Delegation of the EU in BiH appointed two assistant associates who provide support in the work of external monitoring experts of the Department for the implementation of procedures based on reports, as well as monitoring of disciplinary procedures. The item was several times excluded from the public, and in the end, a conclusion was adopted that two people proposed by the EU Delegation will start work on Monday, October 20th, Federalna writes.
