Several agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina specifically work on anti-corruption, and responsibilities are divided among various ministries, agencies and offices.
The competencies for investigating and prosecuting corruption are shared by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption within the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry of Security and in particular the State Investigation and Protection Agency may be considered the strongest mechanisms available to coordinate anti-corruption efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
SIPA is a state-level, internationally supported anti-corruption agency in charge of collecting and processing information of interest for the implementation of international laws and BiH criminal codes. SIPA’s Criminal Investigation Department and its Financial Intelligence Department are responsible for the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences that fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of BiH.
Prevention, education and coordination of anti-corruption activities, including the analysis of corruption trends, development of anti-corruption policies and monitoring of their implementation are the main responsibilities of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption, which is an independent body that reports to parliament.
The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is a unique institution, as it is not superior to the entity Prosecutor’s Offices and its jurisdiction is limited to the prosecution of specific crimes, including cases of corruption involving BiH civil servants. The two entity-level Prosecutor’s Offices of the Federation of BiH and of Republika Srpska, as well as the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Brčko District, are therefore each competent and “supreme” within their own area of jurisdiction.
Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International |
35/100 (2023) |
Government Effectiveness (from -2,5 to +2,5), World Governance Indicators by World Bank: |
-1.06 (2022) |
Control of Corruption (from -2,5 to +2,5), World Governance Indicators by World Bank: |
-0.68 (2022) |
Index of Economic Freedom by Heritage Foundation: |
62/100 (2024) |
Corruption (1=best, 7=worst), Nations in Transit by Freedom House: |
2.75 (2024) |
Democracy Score Nations in Transit by Freedom House: |
51 (2024) |
GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round – Interim Compliance Report |
Issued: 2023 |