Ranko Debevec resigned as a judge and President of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, effectively bringing to an end disciplinary proceedings against him before the Second-Instance Disciplinary Commission of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH).
His resignation meant that a first-instance decision to dismiss him could not become final, allowing him to avoid a ban on applying for a judicial post.
In July 2026, a first-instance disciplinary panel found him guilty of failing, for a period of at least one year and nine months, to ensure, supervise and monitor the proper operation of the automated case-allocation system for 16 cases, and dismissed him from office. The HJPC said this amounted to a breach of his official duties and had undermined public confidence in the impartiality and credibility of the courts.
Under the HJPC’s Rules of Procedure, anyone dismissed from judicial office through disciplinary proceedings is barred from applying for a position in the judiciary for eight years from the date the decision becomes final. Even if such a person applies, they will not be invited for an interview or included in the ranking of candidates.
In Debevec’s case, however, no final decision was reached because he resigned before the disciplinary proceedings could be concluded. By doing so, he brought the disciplinary proceedings to an end and left open the possibility of returning to the judiciary if he chooses to do so.
Because the decision ending his term was prompted by his resignation, Debevec remains eligible to apply for judicial positions. In that event, he would be subject to the same rules as any other candidate who is not currently a judicial office-holder, including the requirement to take part in the candidate qualification process and written examination, as well as other prescribed procedures, the HJPC said in a response to journalists from the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN).
Kerim Čelik, the lawyer who represented Debevec in the disciplinary proceedings, told CIN briefly that the resignation was not intended to circumvent the Rules of Procedure, but rather reflected Debevec’s need to focus on the criminal proceedings also being brought against him. Čelik also pointed out that Debevec would have had the right to appeal the second-instance commission’s decision, whatever the outcome.
Debevec is also standing trial before the special department of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is facing several criminal charges, including abuse of office, accepting a reward in exchange for influence peddling, forgery of an official document, and the unauthorised interception and recording of communications.
Ranko Debevec was born in Sarajevo in 1964. He was appointed a judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2012 and became its President in December 2016.
