Judges should remain "unburdened by prejudice" and refrain from commenting ongoing developments in society in order to ensure objectivity, the head of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJCP), Milan Telgetija, wrote on social media on Tuesday in response to statements a State Court judge made a day before.
The HJPC is the top institution within the judiciary, and it appoints and disciplines judges and prosecutors.
Peric said that independent judiciary does not exist in the country, that top officials in judicial institutions enter arrangements with political actors and that there is a lack of accountability within those institutions. He said that “various power centres” are involved in the decision making-process within Bosnia's judiciary.
He also criticised institutions and individuals within the judiciary regarding some ongoing cases, such as the unsolved murders of 21-year-old David Dragicevic in Bosnia's Serb-dominated semi-autonomous entity of Republika Srpska (RS), and the controversial death of 21-year-old Dzenan Memic in the other entity, the Croat-Bosniak majority Federation (FBiH).
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Tegeltija responded in a lengthy Facebook post a day later.
“A judge needs to be neutral and refrain (from commenting) in the public sphere,” even when that is difficult,” Tegeltija wrote.
“A judge mustn't be burdened by prejudices that he may develop through electronic media and print media, social media, blogs, even those that he may pick up through contact with people, public comment, gossip and so on,” he wrote, adding that when everyone else comments ongoing developments that may end up in courts, “a judge cannot allow himself such luxury.”
N1 contacted HJPC deputy head, Jadranka Lokmic-Misiraca, for comment on Tuesday.
“I call upon him (Peric) to give up the names of those power centres and the names of those within the judiciary who run those power centres,” she said.
“I would not agree that they control the entire judiciary, and I would not say that they even control part of the judiciary,” she said, stressing that nobody controls her.
She also defended the actions of the HJPC regarding the cases which Peric mentioned.
“The HJPC did what it could. A member of the Council cannot comment on a case that is in court. That could be interpreted as pressuring the court,” she said, adding that she believes her colleagues are doing their jobs according to the law.
