The establishment of a parallel High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity would endanger legal security and hinder citizens from enjoying basic human rights and freedoms, Transparency international BiH said on Tuesday.

The statement comes as MPs in the RS National Assembly are discussing the establishment of an HJPC that would work separately from the state-level HJCP, Bosnia’s top judicial institution.

The organisation warned that the adoption of the law to establish an RS HJPC would set a dangerous precedent and represents “just another in a series of attempts to overthrow the legal order and facilitate additional capture of judicial institutions.”

“In recent months, the authorities in Republika Srpska have obviously tried to take control over all institutions and processes by creating parallel institutions without grounds for it, and now, through the appointment of suitable judges and prosecutors, they are trying to further undermine the rule of law,” TI BiH said.

The organisation noted that BiH already has a High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), established as an independent and autonomous body with the task of providing an independent, impartial and professional judiciary. Members of the HJPC, which has the authority to appoint judges and prosecutors at the state, entity, cantonal, district, basic and municipal levels, including the Brcko District of BiH, are judges and prosecutors from all over BiH.

The Constitution stipulates that BiH is a state governed by the rule of law, and the rule of law is obliged to guarantee legal security to its citizens, the organisation said, adding that legal certainty, means that every individual can rely on the meaning and predictability of legal regulations, as well as the rights and obligations arising from them.

“The creation of parallel institutions and the disruption of unity in the organization and governance of the judiciary would undermine legal certainty and impede the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms such as the right to personal liberty and security, the right to property, the right to a fair civil hearing. criminal matters, etc.,” it said.

TI BiH also noted that the legislative procedure before the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH includes amendments to the Law on the HJPC in order to harmonize it with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the priority conditions of the European Union, which require stronger guarantees of judicial independence.

The HJPC needs to be strengthened by additional guarantees of independence and initiatives to create new bodies at the entity level go against such efforts, TI BiH said, adding that the organisation has for a long time been pointing out the problems of political influence on the judiciary and the need for comprehensive reform.

Authorities in Republika Srpska are trying to “create chaos and uncertainty by completely destroying the legal order, which would have catastrophic consequences for all processes in the country, basic rights of citizens and the functioning of all institutions,” TI BiH warned.

“The creation of parallel institutions for the supervision of the judiciary, all under the guise of national interest, is actually aimed at creating a private state and destabilization with the aim of strengthening the position of the ruling parties. TI BiH, therefore, calls on NARS MPs to take responsibility towards the citizens of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina and urges them to consider the consequences of establishing such institutions and the losses they will produce due to legal uncertainty and paralysis of institutions, and those who proposed it to withdraw the Draft Law on the HJPC and contribute to reforms in the judiciary with proposals that respect basic legal principles,” the statement concluded.