BOSNIA - CORRUPTION VERDICTS HIGHLIGHT RULE OF LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001088 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE(HOH/FOOKS/STINCHOMB); OSD FOR BEIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KCRM KJUS KDEM EAID BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - CORRUPTION VERDICTS HIGHLIGHT RULE OF LAW CHALLENGES REF: A. SARAJEVO 747 ¶B. 07 SARAJEVO 2062 Classified By: DCM Judith Cefkin. Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Recent verdicts in corruption cases against senior Bosnian political leaders have highlighted the vulnerability of the judiciary to political attacks and the systemic weaknesses in the judicial system that continue to require the attention of the international community. On June 24, the court rendered a first instance conviction of Party for Democratic Progress (PDP) president Mladen Ivanic for corruption. On June 3, an appellate panel of the State Court dropped corruption charges against Croat Democratic Union-BiH (HDZ-BiH) president Dragan Covic. Republika Srpska (RS) PM Milorad Dodik used the Ivanic verdict to attack the institution of the State Court and assert that it was established only to "discipline Serbs and Croats." The Covic acquittal is an example of the common practice of Bosnian appellate courts overturning the majority of criminal convictions, an outcome that is also possible in the Ivanic case. Nonetheless, the Ivanic conviction will only add to the hostility of many political leaders, some also facing allegations of corruption, towards the State Court and will complicate our efforts to extend international secondees in the judiciary. Dodik's attack also reinforces the vulnerability of the judiciary to political pressure and is yet another example of his long-running campaign to undermine state-level judicial institutions. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) On June 24 the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Mladen Ivanic, president of the Party for Democratic Progress, and House of Peoples delegate, guilty of misuse of public funds and sentenced to eighteen months in prison. The charges stem from Ivanic's 2000-2002 term as RS Prime Minister during which he was accused of improperly using funds belonging to the state owned Srpske Sume forestry company. Ivanic was acquitted of charges of abuse of office, criminal association and bribery. Co-defendant Miro Jurisic, director of the Trgokomerc company, was found guilty of bribery and "forestry theft" and sentenced to two years in prison. Eleven other codefendants associated with the case were acquitted of all charges. In public statements after the verdict Ivanic, who was on an official visit to France when the verdict was read, maintained his innocence and stated that he would appeal the verdict and that it "will not have any impact on my political stands." Ivanic subsequently returned to Bosnia and is awaiting a decision by the court whether his sentence will be deferred while he pursues his appeal or whether he must begin serving his prison term. ¶3. (C) During a June 24 exchange with DAS DiCarlo just prior to the Peace Implementation Council (PIC),RS PM Milorad Dodik expressed concern that the Ivanic conviction would not go down well in the RS, and he implied, would require careful political management. Shortly after his exchange with DAS DiCarlo, Dodik stirred up the political tempest he had expressed concern about by using the verdict to launch an attack on the State Court and the role of international secondees in the judiciary. Dodik asserted that the case was a "staged political process, the goal of which is not justice but demonstration of force." He stated that the State Court was established to "discipline Serbs and Croats" and the verdict constituted "legal dilettantism supported by international circles. Dodik concluded that the State Court "destroyed the basic postulates of judiciary" and that "the RS will do its best to protect its citizens from staged political processes." Dodik's statement was consistent with a pattern of attacks on state-level judicial institutions that go back several months (Ref A). ¶4. (SBU) The Ivanic verdict followed the June 3 ruling of a State Court appellate panel which declined to consider, and returned to a cantonal court, corruption charges against Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Dragan Covic. Covic was originally convicted in November, 2006 of abuse of office and sentenced to a five year prison term. In September, 2007 an appellate court invalidated the conviction and ordered a retrial of conviction on charges of abuse of office by a first instance court. The June 3 State Court decision declining to consider the retrial is all but equivalent to an acquittal since the case was generated by the state prosecutors office and there is no political will SARAJEVO 00001088 002 OF 002 or prosecutorial expertise at the cantonal level to revive the case. The appellate judges ruled that a German secondee prosecutor had mischarged the case by pursuing an indictment on organized crime charges where no evidence of racketeering or collusion existed. The Covic acquittal prompted widespread commentary among media observers who asserted that the case to illustrates that Bosnian political leaders are above the law. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Corruption among Bosnia's political leadership is a serious problem. In addition to retarding the country's economic development, it has produced a cynical resignation and apathy among many voters that elections are little more than an opportunity to replace one set of crooks with another. Holding political leaders accountable for their misdeeds is critical to establishing rule of law and restoring some faith among voters in Bosnia's democracy. The Ivanic case is a welcome step in this direction. That said, there remains the prospect that Ivanic's conviction is overturned on appeal, just as Covic's was. That decision undercut confidence among average Bosnians about the State Court's ability to hold political leaders accountable, and it led to some speculation about the integrity of the appellate judges themselves. Part of the problem is the appellate judges at the State Court are unfamiliar with the judicial concept of "harmless error" and often make decisions to overturn convictions on the narrowest of technical grounds. This is one reason why we are supporting State Court President Kreso's proposal to extend the secondment of international judges at the Court, but to concentrate them in appellate rather than first instance panels, as is currently the case. We can expect sustained resistance from political parties to maintaining an international presence in the Special Department for Organized Crime and Corruption, however, since none of them are eager for aggressive investigations into their financial shenanigans. ENGLISH