Amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), which the Council of Ministers of BiH referred to the parliamentary procedure, have been worsened by new amendments by which the government seeks to weaken the mechanisms for the prevention of conflicts of interest, the control of related persons and property records of holders of judicial functions, Transparency International (TI) BiH said Wednesday, FENA news agency reports.

“Even though the submitted Draft Law partially improves accountability mechanisms in the judiciary, it did not address all the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the European Union because the Council of Ministers of BiH introduced new changes that narrow the provisions on conflict of interest and the scope of information that holders of judicial functions and members of the Council must report in property records,” TI BiH warned.

Additionally, TI BiH stated that from the beginning they warned about the obligation to submit property data only for members of the same household leaves the possibility of reporting property to close relatives in such a way that the property is concealed and transferred, for example, to adult children who do not live in the same household. It is, therefore, possible to hide information about property and ways of acquiring it.

“There is also the possibility for those with an obligation to provide property information to refuse to do so, which opens up additional space for circumventing the provisions on property declaration,” they said.

TI BiH also finds the method of verifying the reported data in the asset registers to be controversial, where there is room for subjective assessment of risk criteria and unequal treatment in the selection of holders of judicial functions, which, according to them, will ultimately represent an obstacle to the efficient control of property and private interests of holders of public functions.

“On the other hand, sanctions for untimely submission or for knowingly submitting incorrect or incomplete information in property records are not adequately prescribed. It is also disputed that the Integrity Unit, which should be responsible for the implementation of provisions on conflict of interest and control of property records, is placed in the HJPC Secretariat, which calls into question its independence and impartiality regarding the members of the Council themselves,” TI BiH explained.

Therefore, they called on the BiH Parliament to adopt solutions that have previously been harmonized with European and international standards, “and to avoid further undermining of the already low public trust in judicial institutions, which according to all relevant polls is at a historic low.”