Special Prosecutors are Fragmenting Big Crime
Though it was set up expressly to process the most serious cases of financial crimes which call for sentences of at least five years, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the RS has failed to prove charges of that scope. Courts have acquitted officials or sentenced them to jail terms of only three months to two years.
CIN Published Politicians Asset Cards
The Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo (CIN) published on its web page www.cin.ba asset declarations of politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Asset Declarations of BiH Politicians
After the Central Election Commission in BiH withdrew the politicians’ asset declarations from its web site—at the request of the Personal Data Protection Agency in Bosnia and Herzgovina–CIN decided to publish them.
Political Parties on Trial
The leading Bosnian political parties pay off bills neither to business partners nor to the state and no court verdict guarantees payment of debt.
HJPC Wants to Monitor Appointments of Public Defenders
High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has decided to introduce oversight over how attorneys get selected to defend clients entitled to free representation. Also in the Federation of BiH judicial authorities started an internal investigation related to cases of police officers allegedly suggesting certain attorneys to defendants or suspects.
Extra Profit for Court Appointed Attorneys
Court appointed defenses represent lucrative business for a small number of attorneys. Their less well paid peers and some inmates say that judges in violation of regulations may even propose attorneys for certain jobs.
For Parties It Pays To Break the Law
Violating the law pays off for BiH’s leading political parties even when they are caught at it. Fines are so small, violations usually get repeated.
New Indictment against Dragan Čović
The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has an eight-day deadline to confirm it or toss it out.
Parties in the Budget: First to Themselves Then Others
Between 2004 and 2010, the governments in BiH have spent 134.7 million KM of taxpayer money to finance political parties. Some politicians say money could be better used, but they are not doing anything to make that happen.