A lawsuit is being prepared against the BiH Council of Ministers due to a vacancy

Exactly what Fokus announced two months ago has come to pass. At the session held on May 13, the Council of Ministers of BiH annulled the vacancy for the deputy coordinator for BiH public administration reform. Instead, it decided to announce a new one – the third in order. The naive might assume that the reason behind this decision is the lack of successful candidates or perhaps an objection that was previously sent regarding the vacancy announced by the General Secretariat of the BiH CoMs. However, this is not the case.

The vacancy commission conducted the procedure, interviewing one candidate, Samir Sabljica, and submitted a report to the Council of Ministers. However, based on the press release published after the session, the Council of Ministers did not approve the appointment. They cited “expressed suspicion of violation of the procedure conducted in line with the Law on Ministerial Appointments,
Appointments of the Council of Ministers, and other appointments of BiH” as the reason.

He learned from a press release that he wasn't appointed

The ministers’ intentions behind this decision have not been explained to this day. While the minutes from the 48th session have not yet been published, those from a session held seven days later have been, providing no insight into the voting method and other details. The only clear aspect is the contention over the position, suggesting that new vacancies may continue to be announced until they secure the desired candidate.

In a statement to Fokus, Sabljica emphasizes that he was never officially informed about the result of the vacancy procedure. He learned that he was not appointed from the press release on 48th session of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

-The press release from the session in question is not a legal document that can be contested in court proceedings, civil or criminal. Furthermore, I am not even obliged to monitor their website. It seems that a negative decision was not made deliberately to prevent me from filing an appeal. I am unaware of the reasons why I did not receive the decision in question, which the Council of Ministers was obliged to make according to Article 57 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of Ministers of BiH – said Sabljica.

He emphasizes that the principle of legal certainty has been rendered meaningless by the failure to adopt the decision, and that Article 13 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and consequently the Constitution of BiH, have been violated.

-The issue revolves around the right to an effective legal remedy. This article of the Convention stipulates: “Anyone whose rights and freedoms as provided for in this Convention have been violated has the right to an effective legal remedy before the domestic authorities, regardless of whether the violation was committed by persons acting in an official capacity”. Since I did not receive a decision, I have on May 17 submitted an official request to the CoMs to provide me with that negative decision. Concurrently, I appealed to the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of BiH, which, in a document dated May 21, formally requested the BiH CoMs to address the concerns raised in my appeal– said Sabljica.

The Council of Ministers confirmed to Fokus that Sabljica was the only candidate and that he received a total of 40 points from the commission, with each member awarding him eight points.

Coordinator Kasap is hiding his academic achievements

By the way, Sabljica earned a Ph.D. in administrative sciences from the Faculty of Administration at the University of Sarajevo. He was also a candidate in the initial vacancy for the selection of the coordinator for public administration reform, which Darko Kasap was selected. The requirements for this position included a degree from a faculty of social studies, with a higher academic degree, either a master's or doctorate, listed as desirable.

Among all the requirements, Kasap only possesses a university diploma, yet he was evaluated with significantly higher grades than other candidates and ultimately appointed. Despite serving as a deputy since 2019, his biography remained unknown for years and was not published on the website of the Public Administration Reform in BiH Coordinator’s Office.

The information about his education was only posted on the website after he was appointed to the position of coordinator. However, the details provided are very scanty, stating only that he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Mostar. He submitted the same biography during the vacancy procedure, but apparently no one was bother by the fact that he omitted to specify his academic title, and we know that the Faculty of Philosophy offers various study programs. Therefore, we have requested detailed information from the Office and are awaiting a response.

In several previously published texts, Fokus questioned the appointments made through that vacancy process, where, along with the coordinator, two deputies were also selected. The vacancy commission created a ranking list and submitted it to the Council of Ministers. Subsequently, Miloš Golijanin was appointed as one deputy during a session. Despite being the sole remaining successful candidate according to the commission's assessment, the Council of Ministers did not support the appointment of Nedžib Delić, prompting him to file a complaint.

Everyone equal, but some more

The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of BiH was also informed about the situation, prompting them to request a statement from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a statement to Fokus, Delić confirmed that he is not giving up the fight for his rights and that he will sue the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-I did not receive any opinion or feedback from the Council of Ministers regarding my complaint. After consulting with a lawyer, I have decided to file a lawsuit, specifically an administrative dispute against the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If they announced a public vacancy and the commission assessed that I met all the requirements, there was no reason not to appoint me. The goal of the vacancy should be to provide everyone with an equal opportunity to participate in the procedure and to select the best candidate. Instead, the Council of Ministers decided to annul the vacancy and launch a new one, now for the third time. It appears they are waiting to find someone who is politically eligible. I have asked the Institution of Ombudsman to take a position on the allegations in my complaint and to answer whether my rights were violated, or why someone has more rights than me in a public vacancy – said Delić for Fokus.

Instead of appointing a candidate from the list of successful candidates, the Council of Ministers decided to announce a new vacancy and appoint an acting deputy coordinator for a period of three months. The choice fell on Amira Mašović, who did not participate in the vacancy process and had previously stated to our portal that she came directly from the unemployment office. Despite our inquiries, the Council of Ministers did not disclose whose proposal she was.

Amira Mašović did not apply for the recently closed vacancy, in which Sabljica was the only candidate, citing “a bad experience with vacancies’. However, our sources claim that confusion regarding the submission deadlines for documents may have led to the annulment of the vacancy, possibly to give her a new chance. When asked about her involvement in the current vacancy process or if she still holds the same opinion about vacancies, she did not provide a response. With her three-month term as acting deputy coordinator set to expire soon, and little chance of the new vacancy procedure being completed by then, it will be interesting to see what decision the ministers will make.

The Council of Ministers is claiming – everything is done in line with the law

Returning to Delić’s case, the ombudsman’s institution received his complaint and requested a statement from the BiH Council of Ministers. In response, the Council of Ministers stated that “the submitted complaint is unfounded in its entirety”. This institution informed Fokus that the final decision in the case will be made “after the investigation has been completed, and possibly other information has been collected.”

-At this stage of the investigation, and before receiving the complainant’s response and relevant documentation, and reviewing the case file, we are unable to provide more information about the case. We would like to remind you that the Institution of Ombudsman acts upon receiving a complaint or ex officio, and the ombudsmen make their decisions after thoroughly establishing all facts and circumstances related to the specific issue of human rights violations, in accordance with positive legal regulations– is the answer we received.

To learn the arguments the Council of Ministers used and its response to Delić’s complaint, beyond the assertion that it is completely unfounded, we contacted the General Secretariat in accordance with the Law on Freedom of Access to Information. Fokus received a response to the complaint, which was also forwarded to the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of BiH. It's evident from this response that the vacancy procedure was conducted according to one law, while the appointment followed another. The validity of such a decision will likely be assessed in the administrative dispute announced by Delić.

The Council of Ministers asserts that the procedure was conducted in accordance with the applicable legal regulations and in a lawful manner, and refutes the complainant’s allegations of discrimination as unfounded. They further state that neither Delić nor any other candidate was prohibited or denied the opportunity to apply for the vacancy. While it’s true that everyone in BiH is aware they can apply for vacancy, it's equally known that without strong connections, success is unlikely. Moreover, in this particular case, the vacancy seems particularly futile, as the Council of Ministers retains the authority to reject the successful candidate for any reason.

Like politics, like reform

– The fact that the complainant was not appointed does not necessarily imply discrimination. Rather, it indicates that he did not receive the required majority of votes for the appointment, and the voting was done in line with the valid Law on the Council of Ministers of BiH. This law is referenced by the Law on Ministerial Appointments, which governs appointments made by the Council of Ministers of BiH and other appointments in BiH… Therefore, participating in the public vacancy did not confer an inherent right; it simply provided the opportunity for individuals to be considered for a position. In this specific case, it was for the position of deputy coordinator for public administration reform – reads the Council of Ministers’ response to the complaint.

It is further emphasized that it would be absurd for every individual who applies for a public vacancy to be automatically appointed or elected to a specific position, and they are correct in this assertion. However, the situation changes when a candidate has been deemed successful by the commission responsible for conducting the vacancy procedure. In such cases, the decision not to appoint the candidate, to announce a new vacancy, and meanwhile appoint an acting deputy coordinator, becomes entirely nonsensical.

We learned that Transparency International in BiH has also shown interest in this case from the beginning. However, to date, we have not been able to obtain information regarding whether they reached any conclusions. It is also noteworthy that the deputy coordinators were required to have completed law school by 2018. However, the Chairman of the BiH CoMs at that time, Denis Zvizdić, with confirmation from the Council of Ministers in February of that year, introduced amendments to the Rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of the Office of the Chairman. These amendments pertained to the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office.
With these changes, the qualification requirement for the deputy position was altered from “University Degree- Faculty of Law” to “University Degree – Faculty of Social Studies”, and the number of deputies was increased from one to two.

And finally, it’s important not to forget that public administration reform stands as one of the key priorities for our country’s accession to the European Union. Despite this process commencing twenty years ago, little significant progress has been achieved, largely attributable to a lack of political will.