HJPC Debates New Appeals Court at Special Session
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t a special session held on Thursday, the HJPC discussed draft legislation which foresee the creation of an appeals court, which will replace the appeals chamber at the Bosnian state court. The issue of jurisdiction between the new appeals court and the Bosnian state court wasn’t discussed.
The HJPC decided not to take an official position on the location of the appeals court, due to the opposing views of its members.
The president of the HJPC, Milan Tegeltija, said politicians needed to figure out this issue. HJPC member Admir Suljagic this should not be a political issue, but a technical one. He said since the Bosnian state court is in Sarajevo, it would be logical for the appeals court to be close by.
Tegeltija said the appeals court should be located in the country’s two biggest cities, Sarajevo and Banja Luka. He said this would ensure better staff, since experts from across both entities would apply for positions at the court.
The vice president of the HJPC, Ruzica Jukic, said that the state-level judicial institutions should be located in the capital. This view was backed by HJPC member Goran Nezirovic, who said that the trust of citizens is not ensured by the court’s location, but by the way the institution works.
Mahmut Svraka from the prosecution of Republika Srpska said that the best compromise would be to place the court in Eastern Sarajevo.
After a lengthy discussion, HJPC president Tegeltija decided not to put the matter to a vote. Tegeltija said when the issue is resolved, funds should be made available for the efficient work of the state level judiciary.
The key stumbling block in the adoption of the new legislation, the jurisdiction of the court, was not discussed in today’s session. This issue will be a topic at one of the HJPC’s upcoming sessions.
At the end of today’s session, the HJPC called for the creation of a Registrar’s Office in the new appeals court. The HJPC also decided that presidents of chambers within the court will be elected by the president of the appeals court, and that judges would not be elected based on their nationality.
The HJPC also decided that state court employees will not be fired once the new appeals court starts operating. The HJPC also said a Bosnian Serb proposal to reform the state judiciary by abolishing of the state court and creating a new court was unacceptable.
