Revizija Zakona o VSTV-u
Revision of the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC)

Summary/Abstract: This article provides comparative preview of the proposals made by Ministry of Justice of BiH (MoJ) and High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (HJPC/Council), on new or amended legislation regulating the work of the HJPC. Relevant international documents and regional practice are taken into consideration together with recent Venice Commission Opinion on Draft Law on HJPC. Due attention has been given to the proposed composition of the Council and election of its members as issues of the decisive importance for the role of the HJPC and its capacity to act as judicial independence safeguard. MoJ’s proposal, empowering the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to elect Council’s members, radically changes current system, undermines the autonomous position of the HJPC and derogates the practical value all other segments of the Law and functioning of the Council. The appointment of the chief prosecutors and their deputies and the reduction of the HJPCs competencies in this regard are also identified as a risk carrying proposals that would lead to the politicization of the appointment process, offering no effective answer for the issues such proposals are trying to respond. Concluding remarks of the preview are focused on the need to ensure that revision of the Law on the HJPC is in line with the standards accepted in judicial reform so far and directed to the improvement of such standards and their consistent implementation.

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