In early April 2026, the Zenica Municipal Court handed a first-instance verdict sentencing Katica Jozak-Mađar, the former president of the Cantonal Court in Novi Travnik, to one year in prison for abuse of office and authority.
The indictment was filed in October 2024 by the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, which accuses her of misusing her official position in relation to the hiring and promotion of three employees within the judicial institution she headed.
Her defence lawyer, Nada Dalipagić, told CIN reporters that an appeal against the ruling will be lodged with the Cantonal Court in Zenica.
According to the indictment, in November 2012 Jozak-Mađar hired two expert associates without conducting a public competition for civil service recruitment. They were initially employed on two-year contracts, after which their employment was repeatedly extended at their request, again without any competitive selection procedure.
Also, in February 2013, she promoted a civil servant to a managerial position without holding a public competition, despite the fact that he did not meet the required condition of four years of relevant work experience. She appointed him as Head of the Information and Communication Technology Department.
Jozak-Mađar served as President of the Cantonal Court in Novi Travnik from 2004 until 2023, when she was succeeded by Judge Davor Kelava.
Following the decision of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina not to grant her a new mandate, she reportedly caused a scene, shouting that she was the best candidate for the position. Due to conduct deemed inappropriate for a judicial office holder, as well as other professional misconduct, including issues related to the aforementioned employment practices within the court, Jozak-Mađar was also subject to disciplinary proceedings in 2025, in which she was sanctioned with a 50 per cent reduction in salary for a period of six months.
This was her second disciplinary sanction. She had previously been fined for interfering, in her capacity as court president, in the work of a judge after removing a case from him and reassigning it to another judge.
