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SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 22 (ONASA) – The overall effectiveness of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which both the public and the judiciary already consider low, declined last year, especially in the fight against corruption – the results of the BiH Judicial Effectiveness Index for 2020 show (Index), USAID announced.
The index, compiled by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Monitoring and Evaluation Support Project, is calculated based on three data sources: BiH citizens surveyed, judges and prosecutors surveyed, and the HJPC administrative data. “Public confidence and the confidence of judges and prosecutors in the justice system in Bosnia and Herzegovina are essential to a functioning democracy”, said USAID Mission Director Courtney Chubb, adding: “A further decline in judicial effectiveness will jeopardize BiH’s development and hopes for future Euro-Atlantic integration. We hope that the new leadership of the HJPC will use the Index and make positive changes in the judicial system and processes. ” The index also shows that the perception of judges and prosecutors on the effectiveness of the judiciary has significantly deteriorated in 2020, which is accompanied by a decline in the value of indicators based on data on the management of court cases of the HJPC. This is the second year in a row that the perception of judges and prosecutors about the effectiveness of BiH justice is in decline. However, the lowest number of both reported and resolved corruption cases since the launch of the Index in 2015 is of particular concern. As can be seen from the administrative data, although the number of new cases is declining, judicial resources are on the rise. The time required to resolve cases and the increase in the number of unresolved cases in first instance courts and prosecutor’s offices thus reduce the effectiveness of the judiciary. At the same time, the USAID Judicial Effectiveness Index recommended that judicial actors, primarily the HJPC BiH, take corrective measures to strengthen public confidence through more effective processing of corruption and high crime cases. In addition, judicial leaders are urged to identify problems and take measures to alleviate the growing dissatisfaction of judges and prosecutors themselves with the state of their profession. The US Government, through USAID and other agencies, is determined to support BiH’s judiciary to effectively fight corruption and organized crime, which are key preconditions on the road to a stable Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
USAID – BIH JUDICIARY EFFICIENCY INDEX: JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS’ EFFICIENCY DETERIORATES
