Members of the judicial institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH) are reluctant to publish the audio minutes of the sessions despite the fact that they are public and that detailed written minutes are already published, while at the same time they are trying to restore some of the lost trust in the judiciary and increase transparency.
In May 2021, the new leadership of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) wanted to restore the lost trust of citizens as soon as possible after several turbulent months since the resignation of former president Milan Tegeltija.
The new President of the Council, Halil Lagumdzija, wanted to restore that trust by increasing transparency. Council members decided at their session in the spring of last year that, in addition to the written minutes, audio ones will be published. In this way, all citizens could hear for themselves how members make decisions.
The sessions of the Council are open to journalists and written minutes are published after them, but citizens do not have the opportunity to hear and experience the sessions in the same way as journalists, and the written minutes can take several weeks. The publication of audio recordings would be faster and would provide citizens with a better insight into the work of the Council. For such a possibility, the members adopted amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the HJPC.
But four months later, the Council members wanted to change what they had previously accepted.
When they were supposed to pass the rulebook for publishing audio recordings on the website, the members of the Council adopted a new conclusion – that “the question of the need and method of publishing audio recordings from the sessions (…) should be reconsidered by the Standing Commission for Legislation”. Then they definitely confirmed in October that they would not publish recordings of the sessions. They again removed the section on the publication of audio recordings from the Rules of Procedure.
After that, until today, the members of the Council did not return to this issue, although in December they adopted the Communication Strategy, a main document for the communication of judicial institutions, in which they listed citizens as their key target group.
Considering that the judiciary has lost the public’s trust, allowing insight into the work would be an indicator of how all other judicial institutions should act, especially when discussions of public importance are being held, believes Peda Durasovic from the organization “Vasa prava”.
Durasovic states that the publication of the minutes, both audio and written, indicates a delay in the application of proactive transparency standards.
“It [proactive transparency] should first of all restore the public trust of citizens in the judiciary”, states Durasovic and adds that European standards should be applied in BiH.
Vehid Sehic, a former judge and prosecutor, shares his opinion, stating that it would not be bad if the sessions were broadcast live.
“This kind of transparency will prevent the possibility of speculation, half-information that creates distrust in that institution among citizens or can create public opinion in the wrong way,” says Sehic, adding that transparency is the best way to fight corruption and speculation, Dektor writes.
E.Dz.
