Trust in judicial systems in our region is at its lowest level today. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, in Croatia 74 percent of respondents believe that the judiciary is bad or very bad. In Europe, that percentage is 35 percent. There is no indication that the situation will get better.
Let's remind ourselves: today the judges of the County Court in Osijek are on trial, the president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro is in custody for a serious criminal offense, criminal proceedings are ongoing against the former chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH was recently relieved of her duties in disciplinary proceedings. .. None of the current four chief prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH has seen the end of their mandate. The President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) Milan Tegeltija was at the center of the "rigging" scandal and resigned under intense pressure from the public and international institutions. Criminal proceedings are being conducted against two prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina today. Criminal proceedings were conducted against dozens of judges. Today, one judge is in custody and one is on the run. There is no system of state power with more suspects, accused and convicted!
What we see is only the tip of the iceberg. One can only guess how dark the judicial crime figure is? Have we reformed the judicial system to have a judicial mafia today?
The fact is that we face serious questions. Is there a crisis of justice systems on the scene? If so, where are its causes? Has the concept of judicial independence brought the judiciary into the criminal sphere? And how far will the permanent crisis distance justice from citizens and additionally affect trust and the rule of law?
Let's not forget, the most professional and moral people are elected to the judiciary, according to the strictest criteria established in advance. Candidates for judicial office must be exceptional because they are the ultimate earthly dispensers of justice. The one who judges and condemns must be worthy of that office and should not have a stain on his biography. If this is so, how is it possible that the system of the best generates so many dishonorable and disgraceful? How is it possible that scandals and violations of laws and codes of professional ethics can happen in the environment of the best? Why is the system not responding in time? Why did the independent regulator (HJTV) not consider the causes of this phenomenon and why did it not take measures to eliminate the causes?
In this short review, we indicate the genesis of the deontological crisis and consider two immediate causes that generate the crisis and call into question the possibility of stopping it.
The genesis of the crisis of professional credibility and integrity of judicial office holders begins with the reform process of the judicial system. The International Factor (OHR) launched a radical reform in which it imposed a law on an independent regulator with a standard of almost absolute independence. It was a pure gift to the judicial community. The legislative and executive authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina had no role in the organization and functioning of the judiciary. Funding the judiciary was their only obligation, which was also overseen by foreigners.
All judges and prosecutors went through the process of renaming in order to clean the system of "sinners" and acquired levers of political influence. The re-elected holders of judicial positions were also rewarded with the permanence of the position until the age of 70. It was believed that the newly elected judges and prosecutors, without the influence of the executive and legislative authorities, would build an independent judicial and prosecutorial system by themselves through the selection of the best holders of judicial positions.
Things did not go in the expected direction. There was an unexpected twist. The idealistic concept of independence separated the judiciary from society and left it without any control. Judges and prosecutors did not understand independence as an interest of citizens and society, but as their own privilege and the absence of any kind of professional responsibility. Internal corruption, nepotism and influence peddling began to destroy the judiciary from within. The selection and appointment process, in which the main role was played by judges and prosecutors, led to key judicial positions a bunch of incompetent people who were levers of influence trading and a mechanism of political and interest interference. Instead of an independent system, today we again have a corrupt judiciary under strong political control!
International mediators tried to stop the self-destruction of the judiciary by strengthening the integrity of judges and prosecutors with new projects. Thus, good recommendations were implemented in practice by people without integrity, those who created the crisis. The failed strategy led to the fact that almost all the projects of the European Commission, which were supposed to stop the collapse of the judiciary, were unsuccessful.
Often in the public, the judicial crisis is associated with political influence and politicians are blamed for the state of the judiciary. There is some truth in that boring narrative, but it doesn't point to the core problem. Politicians are not the cause of the crisis of the first court, but the devastating crisis of politics produced a crisis of society and then a crisis of the judicial system. Our policies have self-destructed in a similar way to the judiciary. Instead of democracy and political pluralism, the ideals on which the transition of society took place, the political scene was occupied by robbery and looting of unimaginable proportions. Today, instead of political parties, society is governed by interest groups that look more like mafia organizations than political entities that offer citizens development ideas and solve their problems. Today, political parties are factors of social risk, not a factor of development and common perspective.
An independent, professional and efficient judiciary is not interested in senseless and criminalized policies. Bad justice is an environment that perfectly suits criminalized structures. In a society shaped by criminalized policies, everything becomes criminalized sooner or later. Therefore, the state of the judiciary is a logical consequence of criminalized and bad policies.
Another cause of the breakdown of the judiciary stems from the crisis of the social value system. After the collapse of the former state in the process of transition, our societies were left without a moral foundation. The general crisis of values has also spread to the judicial system, following the logic of disease metastasis. Today, positions in the judiciary, prosecutorial decisions and court rulings are bought in the same way as university diplomas, doctoral theses, ministerial and parliamentary positions, or jobs are bought. The crisis of values naturally spilled over into the judiciary.
Crisis of politics and crisis of values are serious diseases of society. Such diseases are not treated by interventions on the diseased parts of the body. Therapy must be comprehensive and unmistakable. It is not possible to save the judiciary and not heal society. If the society is not healed first, the healing of the judiciary cannot be successful.
History teaches us that powerful civilizations with such ailments disappeared. Sometimes the collapse was stopped by rebellions, violent or peaceful. But rebellions also have their time and their people. We are in an interregnum, without hope!
Is it possible to help a society that is systematically self-destructing? Judging by the results of European support and aid, it seems not! BiH is moving further and further away from the set goal and is regressing in all fields.
It is time to seriously discuss new cooperation strategies and support formats.
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