Laws that will form the backbone of a credible, independent and professional justice system

At the end of last year, at Sarajevo Airport, I was approached by a member of the public who told me, “Ambassador Soreca, please don’t give up, keep on pushing for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU future!” Sometimes, the EU accession process can appear technical or abstract, but at its very core, the path to EU membership is always about people, improving their lives through concrete changes that will deliver greater prosperity and stability.

The next milestone for the EU path is formally opening accession negotiations. Adopting the Law on HJPC and Law on Courts, as well as appointing a Chief Negotiator and negotiating team are crucial steps for this to happen. With drafts of the two judiciary laws currently in legislative procedure, I encourage the relevant authorities to find common ground, ensure their alignment with European standards and adopt them soon. 

The Law on HJPC and Law on Courts go to the very heart of whether Bosnia and Herzegovina can function as a country governed by the rule of law — and whether it is ready to move decisively on its European path. At their core, these laws are about trust: trust of citizens in justice, trust of businesses in legal certainty, and trust of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capacity to uphold shared values.

Why these laws matter

The benefits of adopting these laws are concrete and far-reaching. A Law on the Courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina would reinforce legal certainty and strengthen the fight against serious and organised crime. It would also strengthen judicial independence by ensuring that decisions of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina are reviewed by an independent appellate body, in line with European standards of a fair trial.

The Law on the HJPC, meanwhile, is essential to safeguard the integrity of the judiciary itself. It should improve how judges and prosecutors are appointed, evaluated and disciplined; strengthen rules on conflicts of interest and enable meaningful asset declarations. These are not cosmetic changes. They are safeguards that protect the judiciary from undue influence and ensure accountability to the public.

Together, these two laws form the backbone of a credible, independent and professional justice system.

Alignment with European standards

Alignment with European standards is sometimes misunderstood as copying foreign models wholesale. That is not the case. Alignment means ensuring that laws and institutions respect core European principles: judicial independence and impartiality, legal certainty, transparency, accountability, and effective remedies.

In practical terms, it means laws that are fully consistent with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, as well as with the findings of the Priebe Report, peer reviews, and the European Commission’s annual country reports.

For example, alignment requires that asset declarations are sufficiently broad to be meaningful, extending to close family members; that there are effective legal remedies against final decisions of the HJPC; and that ethnicity is gradually phased out as a factor in judicial appointments and the election of HJPC members, as consistently recommended by the Venice Commission.

The balance between European principles and domestic choices

European standards define the what, not the how. Bosnia and Herzegovina maintains the room to decide how best to organise its judicial system, provided the result meets those standards.

Take the question of appellate jurisdiction. The Venice Commission has made clear that it is not contrary to international standards for appeals to be handled by a separate division within the same court — provided that this division has all the attributes of a genuinely independent appellate body. There are drafts of the Law on Courts that have envisaged a separate court of appeal. Other proposals suggest a functionally independent appellate division. For the EU, the key issue is whether independence, impartiality and public trust are convincingly ensured.

This balance — between European principles and domestic choices — is precisely what alignment is about.

Delivery and credibility

Repeated requests for opinions from the Venice Commission, multiple draft versions, and prolonged legislative delays all point to a deeper challenge: the need for coherent decision-making, institutional coordination and responsibility. A country aspiring to EU membership must be able not only to draft laws, but to agree on them, adopt them transparently, and implement them credibly.

Indeed, one of the reasons why we underline the importance of launching EU accession negotiations as soon as possible is that it will provide a comprehensive framework for addressing longstanding institutional weaknesses. 

Support for implementation

Once these laws are adopted, the European Union stands ready to support their implementation — technically, financially and politically. Following the approval of the Reform Agenda for the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina is eligible to receive significant investment for each agreed upon and delivered reform. 

€7.26 million is available once a functioning judicial appellate body is in place at the state level following the adoption and implementation of the new Law on Courts. €14.52 million is available following the adoption of a comprehensive Law on HJPC and its implementation to ensure, among other things, an independent judicial disciplinary regime, a performance appraisal system that is based on qualitative criteria, and merit-based appointments. 

In addition to support through the Growth Plan, assistance to implement these laws, as well as rule of law more widely will also continue to be available through initiatives such as EU4Justice and other IPA-funded programmes.

A choice about the future

Ultimately, adopting the Laws on the Courts and on the HJPC is a choice about what kind of country Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to be: one where justice is independent and predictable and where institutions work for citizens. Only legislation that is fully aligned with European standards will allow accession negotiations to be launched. 

The standards are clear. The benefits are undeniable. We will continue to work for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its future in the European Union. The responsibility – and opportunity to make progress – are with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The window of opportunity will not be open forever. The next few weeks will be decisive for the country’s EU path.