The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ruled that the state must pay approximately 18,000 marks in compensation to Dragan Makivić from Banja Luka, who was convicted of tax evasion. He sued Bosnia and Herzegovina after being sent to prison despite the expiration of the statute of limitations for serving his sentence.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted Makivić in January 2011, sentencing him to three years in prison, a 10,000 mark fine, and the forfeiture of around 630,000 marks obtained through criminal activity, as previously reported by CIN.
However, due to judicial oversight, Makivić will not serve his prison sentence or pay the fine, and the court has yet to seize the proceeds of the crime.
Judge Nenad Šeleda ordered Makivić to begin serving his prison sentence in June 2011. Makivić then requested and was granted a postponement, with his new reporting date set for September 2012. However, he failed to appear, and when police could not locate him at his registered address, a warrant was issued for his arrest. In the meantime, Makivić petitioned the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a retrial, arguing that key details in his case had been overlooked, and the court granted his request.
In the 2015 retrial, Makivić received the same sentence, with a five-year window for enforcement under Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Criminal Procedure Code.
However, Judge Šeleda didn’t act until February 2022—six and a half years later. When police couldn’t locate Makivić at his registered address, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was ultimately detained at a border crossing and sent to a prison in Istočno Sarajevo, where he served 189 days from March to September 2022.
While in prison, Makivić petitioned the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to confirm that the sentence enforcement had expired. After the Court verified this, he was released and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the state.
In the ensuing civil case, he sought compensation of 100 BAM for each day spent in prison. Neuropsychiatry expert Abdulah Kučukalić testified that Makivić had suffered emotional distress as a result of his incarceration.
Attorney Nikola Sladoje informed CIN that the court awarded a little over 18,000 BAM in damages, though he did not disclose the exact amount. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina also declined to provide CIN with the requested rulings for this case. They confirmed that a final decision was reached in April 2024 but stated that judges object to releasing the verdict “in order to protect individuals’ privacy”.
In a statement, the Court explained that the requested rulings include details about the awarded compensation amounts and the official actions taken in the criminal case against Makivić.
“The Court does not find that releasing this information serves the public interest”, they stated.
Judge Šeleda, who retired before facing disciplinary proceedings related to the case’s statute of limitations lapse, previously told CIN in a phone interview that he had been unaware of the retrial in Makivić’s case after the final verdict. He added that the file had been with the registry, not with him directly.
“I’m not saying I’m not guilty, I am guilty, but I didn’t have the chance to rectify the mistake,” he said.
Criminal laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) stipulate a statute of limitations of 3 to 40 years for concluding criminal proceedings and enforcing court judgments. After this period, the case becomes time-barred and cannot proceed, except in cases of genocide, war crimes, or life imprisonment.
Every year, between 230 and 330 cases become time-barred during criminal proceedings or the enforcement of a sentence, yet few judges are held accountable. In 2024, three judges were disciplined for delays in three criminal cases and one prison sentence enforcement. One judge received a four-month salary reduction of 10%, while two other judges were given public reprimands.
