TEGELTIJA: HJPC'S LETTER IMPERMISSIBLE ATTEMPT TO INTERFERE IN COURT CASE

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 13 /SRNA/ - Former head of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH Milan Tegeltija stated that sending a letter from the Council to the Court of General Jurisdiction in Banja Luka asking what has been done regarding the "removal of SNSD president Milorad Dodik from the register of political parties" represents an impermissible attempt to interfere in an individual court case of the Court in Banja Luka, in which it has already issued a final and binding decision.

"This is absolutely unacceptable and outside the authority of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council /HJPC/ of BiH, which, as a system-level regulatory body, has no powers to interfere in specific court cases, influence judicial proceedings, prejudge or demand particular outcomes of court cases, or express a position on the merits of a case, which is exactly what was done in this case," Tegeltija told SRNA. He explained that neither the HJPC as a whole nor the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC has such authority. "This is a scandalous and impermissible act, pressure, and an attempt to influence a specific court case, something unprecedented since the HJPC was established. In this case, it concerns a case before the Court of General Jurisdiction in Banja Luka," Tegeltija said. He added that he has not noticed that the HJPC adopted a decision to send such a letter, which is why he believes that the decision was made by the president of the HJPC alone. "It is hard for me to believe that members of the HJPC would ever vote for a decision to send such a letter, because this kind of behavior would amount to undermining the judicial system in BiH, and those who do this in the name of the HJPC are not only committing a disciplinary offense but possibly also the criminal offense of abuse of official position or authority," Tegeltija emphasized.