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The report describes the process to measure the state of independence, accountability and quality that the High Judicial Council and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina has undertaken, using the instruments of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, and it presents the outcomes of the assessment, based on the measurements. The outcome of the application of the instruments is that in BiH formal requirements for independence are largely met, except for the funding of the judiciary and the non-transferability of judges, but that the perceptions of independence are much less positive. Especially, court users and citizens in general are critical, while judges are relatively positive but less so than the European average. There is a gap between the formal safeguards and the way these safeguards are applied in practice. With respect to ccountability, arrangements are not in place in important areas, in particular the relations with the press, external review of the performance of the judiciary and transparency of accessary functions of judges including disclosure of assets. As to perceptions, judges are critical about the adherence by judges to ethical standards and the actions of relevant authorities against judicial misconduct and corruption. The report concludes that the main problem the BiH judiciary is facing concerns negative perceptions of judicial independence and the lack of trust in the judiciary in society, and its underlying causes. To address this problem the judiciary needs to improve: 1. Judicial ethics and the mechanisms to counter improper behaviour and corruption at all levels of the judiciary, including the HJPC itself, in particular with respect to appointment, promotion and discipline of judges. Introduction of disclosure of assets of judges and members of governance bodies such as the HJPC is urgent. 2. Communication with society, including the other state powers, the media and civil society to provide broad insight

The survey among the judges of Europe took place for the third time this year. In total 11,355 judges from 27 judiciaries of 25 countries participated. The target for participation was set at 15%, which most judiciaries (easily) achieved. The analysis of personal and professional charateristics in relation to perception of independence shows that per judiciary judges hold similar views. One of the main findings is that judges generally evaluate their independence positively. On a 10-point scale judges rate the independence of the judges in their country on average between 6.5 and 9.8.

In 2019, the survey among the lawyers of Europe about the independence of the judiciary took place for the second time. The survey was organised in co-operation with the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). The survey has achieved moderate success, as it proved difficult to get lawyers to participate, despite the efforts of the ENCJ, CCBE and national bar and law societies. Despite a low threshold, 21 jurisdictions remained of the 29 participating jurisdictions. Relatively high participation was achieved in Hungary, Poland, Sweden and Norway. Consequently, outcomes cannot be presented for all countries that participated, and the outcomes that are presented need to be interpreted with caution. Still, the results are informative about the state of the indepence and accountability of the judiciary in Europe. The perspective of lawyers is an important addition to that of judges. One of the main conclusions is that on a 10-point scale lawyers rate the independence of the judges in their country on average between 5.2 and 9.0. Most countries get a positive score, but several score just above 6.

In recent years the ENCJ has developed a framework and vision of independence and accountability of the judiciary and a set of indicators to assess the state of independence and accountability of EU judicial systems. In 2014 it was agreed the scope of the project would be extended to quality of justice. Independence is a prerequisite for quality of justice and that is the ultimate goal. To expand on the work previously undertaken, the project of 2017/2018 consisted of several activities in both the area of Independence and Accountability on the one hand and Quality of Justice on the other hand. This report presents the outcomes of the project and recommendations to the ENCJ.