LAW
ON JUDICIAL COMMISSION OF BRCKO DISTRICT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
(Subject Matter)
(1) Judicial Commission of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter referred to as: the Commission) shall provide for independent and impartial District Judiciary, District Prosecutor’s Office, District Public Attorney’s Office and Legal Aid Office (hereinafter referred as: the Judiciary)
(2) This law shall regulate general jurisdiction, authority, composition and the work of the Judicial Commission.
Article 2
(Independence)
The Commission shall be an independent body, exclusive of other Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter referred to as “the District”) governmental organs, exercising its authority within the scope provided by the Statute of the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter refereed to as “the Statute”) and the laws of the District.
Article 3
(Name and Seat)
Full name of the Commission shall be: Judicial Commission of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The seat of the Commission shall be in the town of Brcko.
Article 4
(Seal)
The Commission shall have a round seal with the following inscription: “Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brcko District of BiH, Judicial Commission”, written in circular form in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, with the coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina impressed in the center of the seal.
II APPOINTMENT AND DISMISSAL OF THE COMMISSIONERS
Article 5
(Commission Composition)
(1) The Commission shall have 8 members.
(2) The Commissioners shall be:
a) The President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the judge of that Court whom he/she appoints;
b) President of the Appellate Court of the District;
c) President of the Basic Court of the District;
d) Chief Prosecutor of the District;
e) Director of the Legal Aid Office of the District;
f) Public Attorney of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
g) Two lay members;
(3) The Commissioners referred to in Paragraph 2, Items b), c), d), e) and f) shall be the Commissioners according to the function they perform.
(4) The Commissioners referred to in Paragraph 2, Item f) of this Article shall be two District residents of high professional and moral standing:
a) who have not been the members of political parties in the 4-year period preceding their appointment to the Commission,
b) who are not members of political parties and are not in any way involved in any political activity,
c) who are not public employees or officials of the District, employees in the Assembly of the District, Judiciary or the members of their family households.
Article 6
(Selection of Lay Members)
(1) Minimum one month prior to the expiration of the lay members’ term of office the Judicial Commission shall notify the Assembly on the expiration of their term of office as well as on their early departure.
(2) Upon 15 days from the receipt of the notification The Assembly shall publish a vacancy notice, easily accessible to all citizens, for this function and shall stipulate criteria in the notice as prescribed in Items a), b) and c), Paragraph 4, Article 5 of this law.
(3) Deadline for applying to the published vacancy notice shall be 15 days.
(4) In the first following session the Assembly shall convene the Mandate Immunity Commission which shall interview all applicants meeting the prescribed criteria and immediately upon conducted interviews shall submit recommendation for appointment to the Assembly. If the Assembly fails to appoint candidates within one month from a day of receipt of recommendation it shall be considered that the proposed candidates are appointed.
(5) Members shall be elected for a period of four years and shall not be re-elected.
Article 7
(Early Dismissal)
(1) The Judicial Commissioners shall be dismissed prior to the expiration of their term of office in case of termination of the function they were elected to perform and lay members in case the circumstances change or are contrary to the standards mentioned in Article 5, Paragraph 4, Items a), b), c) and d).
(2) Procedure of the early dismissal shall be regulated with the bylaws of the Judicial Commission.
Article 8
(Immunity)
The Commissioners shall not be held criminally or civilly liable for any acts carried out, or statements or opinions expressed, in the performance of their official duties.
Article 9
(Duties of the Commissioners)
(1) The Commissioners shall preserve the reputation of the Commission.
(2) The Commissioners shall take proper care of their conduct and shall not carry out any activities that might call their impartiality, reputation or integrity into question.
(3) A Commissioner may not be a member of any political party or participate in any political activities.
Article 10
(Financial Disclosures)
District Court Judges, District Prosecutors, District Public Attorneys and the Judicial Commissioners shall respectively submit to the Assembly an Annual Financial Disclosure Statement on their total income, sources, assets, and liabilities as well as the ones of their close family members to the first degree and the manner in which they acquired possession of them.
Article 11
(Selection of the President and Vice-President of the Commission)
(1) The Commission shall elect the President and Vice-President.
(2) President and Vice-President of the Commission shall be elected from the Commissioners. They shall serve for the term of four years and upon the expiration of their term they may be re-elected.
(3) The presence of all Commissioners shall be required for the election of the President and Vice President. The election shall be by a secret ballot cast by the Commissioners.
(4) Any Commissioner may nominate a candidate for the position of President and Vice President. The candidate who receives a three-fifths majority of the total number of Commissioners shall become the Commission President, i.e. Vice President.
(5) If no candidate receives the required majority in the first election, the second election shall be held. The candidate who receives a majority vote of the total number of Commissioners in the second election shall become the President, i.e. Vice President.
(6) If no candidate receives the required majority in the second election, the third election shall be held between the two candidates who received the highest number of votes. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes in the third election shall become the President, i.e. Vice President.
(7) The Vice President shall represent the President in case of his/her absence.
Article 12
(Recusal)
(1) The Commissioner shall not participate in any matter if the candidate whose status is being decided upon is his/her spouse, his/her relative in bloodline up to any degree, his/her relative in sideline up to the fourth degree, his/her in-law up to the second degree, and if there are any other circumstances which may give cause to question impartiality of the Commissioner.
(2) In case these circumstances exist, the Commissioner must withdraw from the process and shall submit in writing the reasons requiring his/her recusal.
(3) Other Commissioners shall decide upon the reasons for recusal.
Article 13
(Entitlement to Compensation)
(1) The Commissioners referred to in Article 5, Paragraph 2, Items a) and f) shall be entitled to compensation based on their participation in the Commission’s work and entitled to reimbursement of travel expenditures incurred in line with their travel to Commission’s sessions from outside of the District territory.
(2) The amount of compensation from Paragraph 2 of this Article shall be determined in the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.
III JURISIDICTION AND OPERATIONS OF THE COMMISSION
Article 14
(General Jurisdiction)
The Commission shall perform the following duties:
a) ensure independence of the Basic and Appellate Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Office and Public Attorney’s Office;
b) provide professional training for Judges, Prosecutors, Public Attorneys, Legal Aid Office attorneys and expert associates in the District Judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office.
c) enact and implement the Code of Ethics for employees in the Judiciary, (exempting the Basic and Appellate Court Judges), employees of Prosecutor’s Office (exempting the Prosecutors), Public Attorney’s Office, the Office and invoke disciplinary procedure due to the violation of the Code;
d) appoint and dismiss Public Attorney and his/her deputies;
e) appoint and dismiss Legal Aid Office Director and attorneys;
f) appoint and dismiss expert associates and interns at the Basic and Appellate Court, District Prosecutor’s Office and Brcko District of BiH Public Attorney’s Office;
g) appoint and dismiss servants and employees of the Judicial Commission, Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Public Attorney’s Office and Legal Aid Office;
h) prepare and submit to the Assembly the laws regarding the organization and work of the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Public Attorney’s Office, Legal Aid Office as wells regulating the work of attorneys and notaries in the District;
i) appoint the notary and regulate notary’s work in the District;
j) prepare and propose to the Assembly the part of the budget providing for operational expenditures of the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Public Attorney’s Office, Legal Aid Office and Judicial Commission Expert Service;
k) cooperate with Ministries of Justice and other relevant institutions in BiH;
l) elect a member for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH
m) establish required number of attorneys in the Legal Aid Office
n) enact or grant consent for the Rulebooks regulating the work of the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Public Attorney’s Office, Legal Aid Office and Judicial Commission Expert Service;
o) enact rulebooks on criteria for court experts and court interpreters;
p) appoint and dismiss the Court Police Commander and determine the number of court police officers;
q) publish public vacancy announcement and elect candidates for the positions of servants and employees at the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Office, Court Police, Public Attorney’s Office and Judicial Commission Expert Service;
r) minimum two times a year discuss the work report of the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Public Attorney’s Office Legal Aid Office and the Commission in form of the information submitted to the Assembly if not otherwise regulated by separate laws;
s) coordinate projects initiated by the Council that refer to improvement of performance of Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices and efficiency in managing cases;
t) improves the work of the Public Attorney’s Office, Legal Aid Office and Judicial Commission Expert Service;
u) exercise other duties as provided by the Constitution of BiH , Brcko District of BiH Statute and laws.
Article 15
(Election of a Member for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council)
The Commission shall elect a member for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Judges and Prosecutors of Brcko District in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Council.
Article 16
(Sessions)
(1) The Commission shall make decisions in sessions
(2) A session of the Commission shall be convened by the President of the Commission or the Vice-President in his absence.
(3) Session may be convened at the proposal of at least two Commissioners.
(4) All members of the Commission shall be notified in person, by telephone fax, e mail, mail no later than eight (8) days before the scheduled regular session, unless an extraordinary convening, in which case forty-eight (48) hours notice is required.
(5) A session may not be convened unless the President, or the Vice-President and a minimum of four (4) Commissioners are present.
Article 17
(Decision-Making)
(1) The Commission shall decide by a majority vote of the votes cast by the present Commissioners. Voting shall be public as a rule unless otherwise specified by bylaws or the Commission’s decision in which case it shall be done by secret ballot.
(2) In case of a tie vote voting shall be repeated. If the vote is again tie the President of the Commission shall publicly give a deciding vote.
(3) The Commission shall enact the following enactments: decisions, conclusions, take stance, grant approvals, opinions and other enactments.
(4) Enactments by the Commission shall be final.
(5) Provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure of Brcko District of BiH shall be accordingly applied to issues occurring in the work of the Commission which are not regulated by with law.
Article 18
(President of the Judicial Commission)
(1) President presents and represents the Judicial Commission.
(2) President of the Commission shall convene sessions, determine agenda and chair the sessions;
(3) President of the Commission and all Commissioners may propose enacting decisions, resolutions, conclusions and other enactments within the jurisdiction of the Commission;
(4) The Vice President shall deputise for the President in case of his absence.
Article 19
(Manner of Work)
Manner of work of the Commission shall be established by the Rules of Procedure for the Commission.
IV EXPERT COMMISSION OF THE JUDICIAL COMMISSION
Article 20
(Providing Services)
(1) Expert Service of the Judicial Commission shall perform technical-accounting duties, IT duties, duties of technological, expert and administrative nature for the needs of the Judiciary.
(2) Work of the Expert Service, number of servants and employees, duties and tasks and position criteria shall be regulated by bylaws.
Article 21
(Secretary)
(1) The Commission shall have the Secretary.
(2) The Secretary shall be appointed by the Commission for a term of four years, with option for reappointment.
(3) To serve as Secretary a person must hold a law degree, have passed bar exam and three years of working experience in legal duties upon passing the bar exam.
(4) The Secretary of the Commission shall perform legal, expert and administrative duties within the jurisdiction of the Commission, prepare sessions, take minutes and perform all other duties prescribed by bylaws.
(5) The Secretary shall be responsible for the work of servants and employees in the Expert Service, and for his/her work shall report to the Judicial Commission and the President of the Commission. The Spokesperson shall assist the Secretary in performance of his/her duties and shall deputise for his/her in his/her absence.
Article 22
(Spokesperson)
(1) The Commission shall have the Spokesperson.
(2) The Spokesperson shall be elected by the Commission with the status of a servant.
(3) To serve as Spokesperson a person must hold a law degree, have passed bar exam and three years of working experience in legal duties.
Article 23
(Informing the Public)
(1) Judicial Commission Spokesperson shall inform the public on the work of the Appellate and Basic Court, District Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Office and Judicial Commission and in cooperation with managerial staff from the Judiciary shall administer the information access procedure in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(2) Provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure of Brcko District of BiH shall be applied to issues not regulated with the Law on Free Access to Information.
(3) A client is entitled to complain against the ruling on free access to information enacted in the first instance procedure. The Commission shall rule upon the complaint in the second instance procedure.
V EMPLOYMENT
Article 24
(Employment Procedure)
(1) Judicial Commission through an open competition shall directly enforce the procedure for employment of Legal Aid Office Director and attorneys, the Secretary of the Commission, expert associates, Secretary of the Court, Spokesperson, Public Attorney and Deputy Public Attorney and Court Police Commander.
(2) Employment procedure for other servants and employees shall be enforced in accordance with the procedure and the law regulating the employment procedure for servants and employees.
VI FINANCING THE COMMISSION
Article 25
(Work Funds)
(1) Commission work funds shall be provided from the District budget.
(2) Budget shall precisely stipulate Commission’s expenditures for the current fiscal year.
Article 26
(Budget Drafting and Execution)
(1) President of the Commission shall prepare the draft budget of the Commission in cooperation with the Expert Service and submit it to the Commission for determining the final budget draft.
(2) The Commission shall consider submitted budget drafts by the Appellate and Basic Court, Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Office, Public Attorney’s Office and the Commission and prepare the final budget draft submitted to the Assembly.
(3) President of the Commission shall attend the sessions of the Assembly and Assembly bodies in which budget and budget related issued are discussed and represent the draft budget.
(4) President shall be responsible for the execution of the Commission’s budget.
Article 27
(Salaries and Compensations)
(1) Servants and employees of the Expert Service of the Commission shall be entitled to salary and other compensations in accordance with the law regulating issues on salaries and compensations for the servants and employees of the Commission.
(2) Commissioners shall be entitled to compensation in the manner regulated by this law.
VII TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 28
(Putting out of Force)
On the date this law enters into force the Law on Judicial Commission of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Official Gazette of Brcko District of BiH” No. 4/00) and the Law on Amendments to the Law on Judicial Commission of Brcko District of BiH (“Official Gazette of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, No. 1/01 and 5/01) shall be put out of force.
Article 29
(Deadline for Enacting Bylaws)
The Commission shall enact bylaws within 6 months from the date this law enters into force.
Article 30
(Publishing and Entering into Force)
This law shall enter into force on the eighth day of its publishing in the “Official Gazette of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
