Is it worth being in a conflict of interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a legitimate question after the Commission for deciding on a conflict of interest in institutions at the BiH level fined Marija Ćosić, adviser to Marinko Čavara, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, with KM 5,000.
In her case, it is disputed that in addition to the position of councilor Čavara, she simultaneously performs the duties of a councilor in the Municipal Council of Busovače.
The calculation is clear even to the greatest laymen – if someone has the option to perform incompatible functions and thus earn, say, 30,000, 50,000 or 100,000 marks, why not take advantage of such a chance, in a situation where the Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in Institutions at the level of BiH foresees a maximum fine of 20,000 KM?
Therefore, although some believe that this decision of the commission is significant because in recent years there has been a widespread practice whereby numerous officials at the BiH level perform multiple functions at lower levels of government, there is also an opinion that the punishments are too light.
Experts warn about the weak preventive role of punishments
According to the Center for Security Studies of BiH, the sentencing of Ćosić provoked certain dilemmas in the area of the rule of law and the principle of equality of all persons before the law without discrimination and privileges.
“Measures that the Commission can impose, in the form of fines, range from 1,000 to 20,000 KM. In this case, a fine of 5,000 KM was imposed, but the dilemma remains as to what amount of illegally acquired property is involved in the specific case. If the amount is higher, which is realistic to assume, given the two years since the adoption of this legal norm, it is justified to question whether it is worthwhile to knowingly violate the legal provisions, until the Commission reaches out for its powers,” Denis points out. Hadžović, president of the Center for Security Studies of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This, as he adds, calls into question the purpose of punishment, that is, the very goal of general prevention, both in the positive form of creating confidence in the operation of the repressive apparatus, and in the negative form of a deterrent effect, i.e. that no one commits such an act.
“Also, we witness every day that, when determining their punishments, the courts, in addition to prison or monetary sanctions, also impose on the guilty the mandatory return of funds or confiscation of illegally acquired property,” reminds Hadžović.
Ivana Korajlić, the executive director of “Transparency International” for Bosnia and Herzegovina, points out that they emphasized and advocated the principle that sanctions must be proportionate to the profit someone has gained by breaking the law and that they must be deterrent.
“In situations like this, where someone spends years in incompatible functions, has double income and was in a situation where he was making decisions that could potentially be a conflict of interest, the sanctions should certainly be higher. Our law also lacks mechanisms that would ensure that acts or decisions that were made in a situation of conflict of interest are annulled,” stated Korajlić.
In the specific case, adds Korajlić, a monetary sanction was pronounced which is quite low, and with it the measure of “resignation call” and the question is what will happen next. There are more problems.
There is a lack of a mechanism for confiscating illegal benefits
“The law does not state that unlawfully acquired property benefits are confiscated from a person. This is prescribed only for criminal acts, and this is a misdemeanor and there is no such mechanism,” Korajlić emphasized in her statement to “Independent newspaper“.
The law passed in 2024
We remind you that in the “Official Gazette of BiH” on March 15, 2024, the Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Institutions at the BiH level was published, which was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH at the 11th emergency session of the House of Representatives, held on March 8, 2024, and at the 3rd emergency session of the House of Peoples, held on March 8, 2024.
The Center for Security Studies of BiH says that citizens rightly expect the consistent application of European standards and principles in the fight against this ubiquitous scourge that corrodes all social pores and contributes to the constant decline of BiH on the global index of corruption perception.
