Given the fact that administrative customs bodies are not independent institutions but rather they are executive bodies, a violation of Article 6, paragraph 1 of the European Convention can be avoided if decisions adopted by the bodies, which are not independent and impartial, are reviewed or if an appeal is filed with an independent and impartial tribunal of full jurisdiction.
• Decision on Admissibility and Merits No. U 59/03 of 17 May 2004, paragraph 23, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 40/04;
• Decision on Admissibility and Merits No. U 106/03 of 27 October 2004, paragraph 28, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 40/04; minor offence proceedings for failing to pay duty on imported goods
There is a violation of the right to “an independent tribunal”, as an element of the right to a fair trial, when a legislator amends through its measures the legally valid court decisions, thereby violating the principle of the rule of law under Article I(2) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Decision on Admissibility and Merits No. AP 982/05 of 14 March 2005, paragraph 22, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 57/06; war damages; a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention and Article II(3)(e) of the Constitution of BiH established
There is a violation of the right to “an independent tribunal” if acts of the legislative or executive authority amend or suspend the enforcement of binding court decisions or when prescribe that opinions of the executive authority are binding on the courts (as the legislator did in the Decree on the Manner of Determining and Settling the Public Debt of the Federation of BiH during the Wartime and Imminent Threat of War) ... Within the meaning of Article 6, paragraph 1 of the European Convention, “the court” shall not be deemed “independent” if seeking and accepting obligatory opinions of the executive authority, given that in such a manner “the judicial function is being subordinated to the executive authority” (see European Court of Human Rights, Beaumartin v. France, judgment of 24 November 1994, Series A No. 296 B, paragraph 38).
• Decision on Admissibility and Merits No. AP 703/04 of 28 June 2005, paragraphs 42 and 47, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 32/05; failure to enforce a legally valid ruling on enforcement, payment of the debt incurred during the wartime; a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention and Article II(3)(e) of the Constitution of BiH established
The Law on Courts guarantees independence of courts in discharging judicial function and the courts shall adjudicate pursuant to the Constitution and laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cantons. The fact that the work of the courts was funded from the budget of the cantons is not by itself a proof that the court is not independent. The state is obliged to fund the work of the courts, thereby not bringing into question the independence of the courts.
• Decision on Admissibility and Merits No. AP 971/04 of 28 June 2005, paragraph 21, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 27/06
