Natrag Bosnia and Herzegovina: Venice Commission recommendations on draft amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Venice Commission recommendations on draft amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council

In an opinion adopted on Friday 19 March (Bosnia and Herzegovina - Opinion on the draft Law on amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, Adopted by the Venice Commission at its 126th Plenary Session (online, 19-20 March 2021), the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) welcomes Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to respond to the criticism raised against the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the actual performance of the HJPC by bringing targeted amendments to the Law, which cover four issues, namely conflicts of interest and transparency, disciplinary procedures for judges and prosecutors, judicial review of HJPC decisions and removal of HJPC members.

The Venice Commission regrets that the Draft Law omits to deal with many of the issues that have been repeatedly raised in previous Venice Commission opinions and makes several recommendations to the authorities concerning the new provisions. Notably, it observes that many of them are too vaguely drafted, and it urges the authorities to make them more precise.

Also, the Venice Commission calls for revising the list of disciplinary offences for judges and prosecutors, also in light of the recommendations made in the 2014 opinion, and recommends that a new provision, listing the specific disciplinary offences of HJPC members, be added to the Draft Law.

It further insists that all substantive decisions adopted by the HJPC be reasoned and subject to judicial review under the Law on Administrative Disputes of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the opinion, the establishment of a system of control of assets and interests declarations (Integrity Unit) is welcome, but more precise rules should be introduced in the Draft Law itself for its functional independence, composition and operation as well as for the role of experts engaged in monitoring.

The Venice Commission recognises that the amendments are in no way meant to preclude the adoption of a comprehensive legal act on the HJPC that would be fully aligned with international standards and strongly encourages the country’s authorities to take into account recommendations formulated in its previous opinions adopted in 2012 and 2014 as well as the European Union reports on the matter.

The opinion was prepared under the Expertise Co-ordination Mechanism in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.

Strasbourg 23 March 2021
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Što je Mehanizam za koordinaciju ekspertiza?

Mehanizam za koordinaciju ekspertiza (ECM) služi za pružanje zakonodavne ekspertize i savjetodavnih mišljenja unutar sustava Vijeća Europe, o javnim politikama u područjima jačanja pravosuđa, suzbijanja gospodarskog kriminala, borbe protiv diskriminacije te promicanja i zaštite slobode izražavanja i slobode medija, kao i ustavna pitanja koja potpadaju pod mandat Europske komisije za demokraciju kroz pravo (poznate kao Venecijanska komisija). Takva stručnost pruža se uz puno poštovanje neovisnosti i funkcionalnih specifičnosti nadzornih mehanizama Vijeća Europe i pruža ključnu potporu za procese pristupanja EU-u. Ako postoje aktivnosti programa Horizontal Facility koje spadaju u područje interesa dotičnog korisnika, zahtjev za stručnim mišljenjem može se izravno prilagoditi tim aktivnostima.

 

Tko može podnijeti zahtjev za stručno mišljenje u okviru ECM-a?

Ministri (i drugi članovi vlade), predsjednik parlamenta, čelnici parlamentarnih odbora, institucije pučkih pravobranitelja ili neovisne državne institucije dotičnog korisnika (Albanija, Bosna i Hercegovina, Kosovo*, Crna Gora, Sjeverna Makedonija, Srbija i Turska) mogu podnijeti zahtjev za stručno mišljenje u okviru ECM-a.

Nadalje, posebno za pitanja koja spadaju u područje nadležnosti Venecijanske komisije, Europska unija kao i tijela Vijeća Europe (tj. Glavni tajnik, Odbor ministara, Parlamentarna skupština i Kongres lokalnih i regionalnih vlasti), također mogu podnijeti zahtjeve za pomoć u okviru ECM-a.

Osim toga, zahtjeve za mišljenje amicus curiae Venecijanske komisije mogu podnijeti i ustavni sudovi.

* Ova oznaka ne prejudicira stavove o statusu i ista je u skladu s Rezolucijom Vijeća sigurnosti UN-a 1244 i Mišljenjem Međunarodnog suda pravde o Deklaraciji o neovisnosti Kosova.