Ispunjenost standarda o nezavisnosti sudstva u slučaju Apelacionog odjeljenja Suda BiH
Compliance with the Standards on Judicial Independence in the Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Summary/Abstract: Independence of the Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, acting as a court of second instance in relation to decisions taken in the first instance by the same court, has for a number of years been the subject of debate amongst legal experts. The unusual model of having both first and second instance courts as part of one judicial institution has raised concerns as to the independence, or even the very existence of a “higher court” within the Court of BiH. The issue has recently become part of the Structured Dialogue on the Judiciary between the EU and BiH. With the aim of focusing the discussion strictly on legal arguments, the author examines key European and international standards as well as the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to judicial independence, particularly focusing on individual independence of judges. The article provides an analysis as to the extent to which these standards are met when it comes to the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH. It is shown that albeit the organizational setup of the Court of BiH is not in itself in breach of the ECHR standards, some aspects of the legal framework regulating the appointment and professional careers of judges of the Appellate Division are not fully in line with other international documents detailing the requirements for the independent exercise of judicial functions. In light of these conclusions two options are proposed to overcome the observed insufficiencies.

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