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The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, today issued a Decision that provides the Independent Judicial Commission (IJC) with a new and comprehensive mandate. With this Decision, the IJC is now fully functional and formally institutionalised in the legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The High Representative has also appointed Finnish Judge Kari Kiesilainen the Acting Director of the IJC. Judge Kiesilainen will remain in this position until a Director is appointed. The High Representative set up the IJC last November. Its establishment was the result of the request of the Peace Implementation Council, issued at its meeting in Brussels in May last year, for "an international oversight body for judicial reform," which would act as a single, consolidated and strong body that would work on judicial reform in BiH. The IJC has become the lead international agency for judicial reform and promotion of the rule of law throughout BiH. Up to now, it has been assessing the judiciary, reform efforts undertaken in this field, and the work of the Entity and Cantonal commissions and councils set up to review current judges and prosecutors and vet new appointments. The IJC will cover the entire country with five regional offices - in Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihac, Tuzla and Banja Luka -, and is now moving to a more proactive and robust phase in its work. It will provide assistance and guidance to domestic agencies, including the judges and prosecutors review commissions, and enforce high standards of ethics and professionalism. It will also guide and oversee domestic training bodies, and act as the central point of contact for international and domestic initiatives in judicial reform. The IJC will be advising the High Representative on matters related to judicial reform and make recommendations for the use of his powers under the Dayton Peace Agreement, should this become necessary. The IJC has the power to intervene in the work of the judicial and prosecutorial review commissions and councils, and to suspend proceedings until the High Representative makes a final decision. Lastly, the IJC is authorised to gain access to information held by judges, prosecutors, the relevant ministries and the judicial/prosecutorial commissions and councils. The establishment of the rule of law and an efficient, independent judiciary are preconditions for a modern, just and democratic society. They make up the backbone of all the other reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Legal and judicial security will encourage investors to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They must be able to address problems to courts, receive a just decision within an acceptable time frame, and have the security that the judicial decision will be executed efficiently. Legal and judicial security will encourage returns. Returnees must be able to enforce their rights - to their property, to access to labour, to access to social services - , before the courts. Legal and judicial security will strengthen the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their decisions must be enforceable before the courts. The High Representative hopes that the citizens and officials in BiH will take advantage of the activities of the IJC in order to improve the judicial system in place. The High Representative has issued this Decision in accordance with his powers under Annex X of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the conclusions of the 1998 Bonn Conference of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). This same conference recognised "that an impartial and independent judiciary" was "essential to the rule of law and reconciliation within Bosnia and Herzegovina." After the PIC called for "an international institution for judicial reform" at the PIC Conference in Brussels last May, the High Representative and the Steering Board of the PIC, in July, agreed to establish the IJC and on the need of a sustained effort of by international community to work on judicial reform and promote the rule of law.
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