UZUNOVIĆ VIOLATED LAWS AND COMMITTED DISCIPLINARY OFFENSE

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 21 /SRNA/ - Judge Sena Uzunović, through the letter she sent to the Central Election Commission /CEC/, violated the laws of BiH and committed a disciplinary offense by interfering in a procedure over which she has no jurisdiction, former President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council Milan Tegeltija told SRNA.

"A judge of a criminal panel has no authority or right to interpret rulings related to electoral procedures. This is a simple matter," Tegeltija emphasized. Tegeltija stated that this represents an incomprehensible and scandalous violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Election Law of BiH, and the Constitution of BiH by a single judge. "Sena Uzunović has taken it upon herself to interfere in proceedings over which she has absolutely no jurisdiction," Tegeltija said, responding to Uzunović’s letter to the Central Election Commission claiming that Milorad Dodik cannot serve as president of the SNSD. He emphasized that this concerns a judge who submits a letter to the CEC in a procedure over which, as a judge of a first-instance criminal panel, she has no jurisdiction. Tegeltija stressed that Uzunović, without any formal procedure, on her own initiative and uninvited, grants herself the authority to interfere in a procedure that falls exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Appeals Chamber of the Court of BiH, and that too after it had already issued a decision regarding the electoral process in the appeal procedure. He stated that Uzunović is committing a classic disciplinary offense, acting out of self-interest, by interfering in an area over which she has no jurisdiction. "This is not an act of the court; this is an act of Judge Sena Uzunović. It is a clear case of abuse of judicial position, attempting to force a certain decision," Tegeltija assessed. He explained that her interpretation of the legal consequences of the ruling is fundamentally completely wrong and distorted, as they cannot be interpreted the way she did in the letter she sent to the CEC. "It is completely clear what the legal consequences of the ruling pertain to. They do not apply to legal entities that are not covered by public funding, and political parties are registered as citizen associations. Associations have the right to elect their own representatives," Tegeltija said.