Statement by EU Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, following the HJPC conclusions of 26 October 2017 on the dismissal of judges and prosecutors (27/10/2017)

Statement by EU Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, following the HJPC conclusions of 26 October 2017 on the dismissal of judges and prosecutors

• 27.10.2017.

The European Union takes note of the conclusions adopted by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) on 26 October 2017 in connection to the information submitted by the Centre for Investigating War and War Crime and Search for Missing Persons from Republika Srpska.

Certain of the conclusions adopted by the HJPC raise concerns and could directly affect the independence of judges and prosecutors as well as the respect of the fundamental rights.

Fair trial is prerequisite for public trust in the judicial system. The presumption of innocence is at the core of the fundamental rights protected by the European Union.

No public official, including judges and prosecutors, should be dismissed without a proper independent investigation and disciplinary procedures first being applied. The appropriate sanction should only be decided after such procedures have been conducted and the allegations against the officials found to be grounded in the law. Circumventing such procedures will limit the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and is not in line with EU standards.

As recently proposed by the EU experts, there is a need to improve the criteria for appointment and dismissal of officials, in line with EU standards.

And any such improvements need to take full account of the need to maintain the independence of judiciary as well as the respect of fundamental rights.

http://europa.ba/?p=53184

The blog author: The statement is the reaction to
 the conclusions adopted by the BaH High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council HJPC in relation to the Information filed by Republika Srpska Center for Investigation of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons. The information included the names of 9 judges and 6 prosecutors reported on the grounds of discrimination of Serbs in the war crime proceedings, as well as the documentation about their war past making them biased or discreditable for performing independent judicial or prosecutorial function.

After discussing this Information a multi-ethnic HJPC as a body in charge of appointment of judges and prosecutors in BaH decided to undertake several urgent steps including the submission of the Information and documentation to the Office of Disciplinary Prosecutor and BaH Prosecutor's Office, requesting urgent proceedings. One of the most important conclusions is related to the initiation of the procedure of amendments of the Law on HJPC to introduce an exceptional, extraordinary measure for dismissal of a judge or prosecutor without a prior disciplinary procedure. The HJPC is to prepare the contents of this provision in line with the legal standards and requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights that will be submitted as a proposal to the relevant national institutions.