Five judges and prosecutors of the state judiciary have been paid almost 822,000 Bosnian marks (some €410,000) during their long-term suspensions, according to information collected by Detektor.ba.

By the end of January 2024, five state judges and prosecutors collected hundreds of thousands of Bosnian marks in salaries and remunerations from the State Court and the Prosecutor's Office during their suspension.

The President of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ranko Debevec, Judge Dalida Burzic, as well as prosecutors Goran Salihovic, Bozo Mihajlovic and Diana Kajmakovic have been removed from their duties due to criminal investigations, i.e. proceedings initiated against them.

According to the collected data, they received 822,000 Bosnian marks (some €410,000)  in salaries during their suspension. These costs pile up, while in some cases, investigations last for months and trials for years without an effective conclusion.

The payment of regular salaries to persons against whom proceedings are being conducted is part of the consequences of an ineffective judicial system, Srdjan Blagovcanin, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina explained.

The duration of the proceedings leads to the loss of citizens’ trust in the judiciary, he added.

“What kind of message is being sent to the public if you have proceedings lasting five, seven or even ten years, in terms of the right to a reasonable trial, or the right of people who are suspected or accused to have that process completed within a reasonable time,” Blagovcanin asked and added that the judiciary did not receive financial support to be more efficient, but that this cannot serve as an excuse.