Rulings by the Constitutional Court of BiH that delve into the legal basis of decisions by lower courts have stirred disputes in legal circles about whether the Court is overstepping its authority.
The Constitution is the backbone of the law in any country– but ignored by some politicians in BiH.
In October, the BiH Constitutional Court will decide on a new president. Ethnically sensitive rules will restrict the judges to picking their new leader from between only two candidates – the two judges who have the least time on the bench but strong political backgrounds.
The court charged with enforcing the Constitution of BiH must also hear all appeals from the lower courts, leaving it hard-pressed to keep up with its primary duty.
At all levels justice suffers because multiple layers of courts with murky jurisdictions and too many insignificant cases cannot get through their workloads.
A prominent judge’s suicide four years ago was a murder, says her son and daughter. The evidence that it was a suicide is based in part on the work of forensic expert Željko Karan, a man who has been in the center of other controversies and was once indicted for soliciting bribes.
The House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament turned its backs on Constitutional Court Judge candidates with strong legal credentials in favor of an SDA party leader. Many say the selection process needs reform.
Appointed by majority of votes from the members of FBiH Parliament
A man who says his wife committed suicide served five years for murder. His conviction was based on evidence given by forensic experts, who the defendant’s father said had demanded a bribe to change their testimony.
Tomislav Dujaković was by all accounts not a nice man, but when the village farmer died at the hands of his son, it started a series of versions of events that culminated with furniture being moved to explain his death.
One danger to the future of BiH’s Constitutional Court is that there are few required qualifications for top judges, and lawmakers may be unqualified to select good people.
A run-down of the top contenders to become the new judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH.
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