Justice reform talks, being held this week as part of the EU-sponsored Structured Dialogue process, seem to have stalled as representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and the BiH Court have objected to the reforms under consideration.
The Bosnian Serb Justice Minister, Anton Kasipovic, said the Bosnian state court had a “bad institutional framework”, which is why the ministers of justice in Bosnia on September 10 had signed in Brussels a protocol highlighting the need for reforms.
“It is dangerous we are now dealing with politics and not expert discussions. The law we proposed from Republika Srpska is not ideal but it is an excellent starting point for discussions.
The HJPC and BiH Court previously objected to being left out of September meetings that brought together the BiH, RS, Federation, and Brcko ministers of justice. That meeting resulted in the signing of a protocol and an agreement on next steps. The BiH judicial institutions, however, are not comfortable with the new framework.
The president of the Bosnian court, Meddzida Kreso, said that the meeting had the wrong connotations, as “the proposed laws initiate a compromise that goes against expert positions.
“There can be no compromise in the sense that the Bosnian court and prosecution lose jurisdiction over cases in which they defend the state,” Kreso said.
Earlier this week, the Court of BiH issued a formal statement criticizing the draft laws under consideration by Structured Dialogue participants.
