Top judicial inst. refuses to cooperate with parliament investigation commission

The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), the institution in charge of, among other things, appointing and disciplining judicial officials, said that its members are not obliged to fulfil a request the House of Representatives made last year for them to resign and that the conclusion of the House of Representatives which establish the parliamentary investigative commission for investigating the situation in the judiciary, and especially the HJPC, "essentially represent parliamentary oversight of the judiciary" which is not allowed according to the rules in Bosnia.

The institution argued that the House of Representatives went beyond its competencies in establishing the commission and that it represents “gross interference and inadmissible pressure of the legislative power on the work of the judiciary, and as such violates the democratic constitutional system of three-part division of power.”

The HJCP called upon the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly "to consider all issues related to the judiciary through a partnership with the HJPC on the basis of respect for the democratic principle of separation of powers.”

The US Embassy in Bosnia reacted to the statement via Twitter.

“The HJPC should remember that checks and balances are the very foundation of a free, democratic society. Instructing justice sector officials not to cooperate with a legislative committee works against both judicial accountability and independence,” the embassy said.

https://twitter.com/USEmbassySJJ/status/1274017143424720896