The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina is advised to maintain the current Book of Rules on the conflict of interest for its members, adopted in May 2014. This was concluded at a two-day seminar on `Conflict of Interest in the Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina` organised by the European Commission and sponsored through the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument (TAIEX). In addition, the HJPC should also propose detailed guidelines on integrity for judges and prosecutors that will be sent to competent judicial institutions for further adoption.
 
The EU member states’ experts from Belgium, Germany, Italy and Croatia, who participated at the seminar, observed that the current mechanism for prevention and resolving conflict of interest largely corresponds to the status and competences of the HJPC, which enjoys a significant level of institutional independence, much higher than in most EU member states, particularly when it comes to the central role of this institution in managing the entry into judicial careers of both judges and prosecutors. Consequently, the HJPC requires stronger rules on integrity and accountability of its members. A representative from the European Commission services reiterated full EU support to the integrity of the HJPC and its role in entrenchment of the rule of law in the country and emphasised that the HJPC holds a key responsibility in the consolidation of professionalism and accountability throughout the judiciary in BiH. For this reason the matter of conflict of interest should be disciplined with clear parameters, in order that the regulating institution appears to be above any suspicion of possible clientelism.

This is also compatible with the practice established during previous EU enlargements, according to which self-regulatory institutions, including the judiciary as a whole, must adopt higher ethical standards if they want to regain the credibility and trust of citizens. This includes, amongst other things, more transparency in declaration of assets, prohibition and limitation on extra-judicial activities as well as unambiguous rules on promotion during and after the career or membership in the Council.

The seminar – held in Sarajevo on 4 and 5 February – was convened in the framework of the EU-BiH Structured Dialogue on Justice to discuss relevant practices and European standards in the prevention and fight against conflict of interest in the judiciary. The experts from the four EU member states shared their experience with representatives from institutions throughout the BiH judiciary.