Milan Tegeltija

Milan Tegeltija, head of the Bosnian High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, HJPC, the Bosnian state's top judicial institution, resigned on Thursday after coming under pressure from the public and the international community over alleged influence-peddling.

Members of Bosnia's top judicial body, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, HJPC, voted to ask its president, Milan Tegeltija, to consider resigning over a recording that appears to indicate his involvement in influence peddling - and has further shaken the body's reputation.

A series of similar scandals in the Balkans in recent weeks and months has had far less effect on governments and political careers.

The Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor, UDT, of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, HJPC, on Friday filed a disciplinary action against Milan Tegeltija, president of the HJPC, for "a serious violation of official duty, jeopardizing public trust in the impartiality and credibility of the judiciary".

Dragan Mektic, the Minister of Security in Bosnia, has called for public protests on Wednesday in front of the building of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, HJPC, after a video emerged suggesting its boss had taken a bribe.

Death threats sent on Saturday to two senior judges in Bosnia and Herzegovina have triggered concern over the intimidation of judicial officials, with experts saying such threats risk undermining their work if left unpunished.