Drena Marin, a judge at the basic court in Prijedor, was found guilty of abuse of official duty for unlawfully appointing her sister, lawyer Sanda Zubanović, as a defence attorney ex officio in sixteen cases. This allowed Zubanović to illegally receive BAM7,285.90 (€3,723.20). In the final verdict in 2024, Marin was sentenced to six months in prison, while the first-instance verdict from 2021 banned her from serving as a judge for two years.

The public prosecutor's office of Republika Srpska filed an indictment against Judge Drena Marin on 9 July 2021, confirmed a week later by the district court in Banja Luka. The indictment detailed that, between 5 January 2011 and 2 November 2016, Judge Drena Marin, while serving at the basic court in Prijedor, unlawfully appointed her sister, lawyer Sanda Zubanović, as a defence attorney ex officio in sixteen proceedings against minors, where Marin acted as the presiding judge. This was done to benefit Zubanović, in violation of Article 37, paragraph 1, point b of the Law on Criminal Procedure of Republika Srpska (available in Bosnian and in English). The law stipulates that judges cannot perform their duties if the suspect’s defence attorney in a case is a blood relative up to the fourth degree, a requirement that Drena Marin ignored. The unlawful decisions resulted in Zubanović receiving payments for defence representation costs from court budget funds, illicitly acquiring a benefit of BAM7,285.90 (€3,723.20). Through her actions, Judge Marin committed the extended criminal offence of violation of the law by a judge, as outlined in Article 376 of the criminal code of Republika Srpska.

Following confirmation of the indictment, the first instance disciplinary commission of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) suspended Judge Marin from her duties as a judge in the district court in Prijedor, where she was serving at the time, until the end of the criminal proceedings.

In August 2021, during the opening court hearing, the accused pleaded not guilty. Following the trial, on 30 November 2021, the district court in Banja Luka issued a first-instance verdict, sentencing Drena Marin to ten months in prison and banning her from serving as a judge for two years. Marin was found guilty of committing the extended criminal offence of breach of law by a judge (Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska). During the trial, the prosecution argued that Marin’s repeated appointment of her sister as ex officio defence attorney led to a serious breach of trust in the judicial system and compromised the impartiality of judicial decisions. During sentencing, Judge Blagoje Dragosavljević noted that the prolonged nature of the offence, along with Marin’s several years of experience, constituted an aggravating circumstance.

Marin appealed the first-instance verdict, and on 22 November 2024, the supreme court of Republika Srpska partially accepted the appeals from the defence. In the final verdict, the first-instance ruling of the district court in Banja Luka was amended, and Marin’s sentence was reduced to six months in prison.

In January 2017, the online magazine Žurnal had already inquired about emerging allegations concerning Judge Marin’s offences. Žurnal asked Duško Miloica, the president of the district court in Prijedor, how it was possible for Judge Drena Marin to appoint her own sister as a defence attorney ex officio in cases where she was presiding. At the time, Miloica responded that the appointments were legal.

Žurnal also reported that the disciplinary prosecutor's office of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council confirmed receiving an anonymous report in September 2016 regarding allegations of Judge Marin’s wrongdoings related to her sister's appointments. Furthermore, the Center for Investigative Reporting discovered that disciplinary proceedings were conducted against Marin in 2018 already for the same offence. On that occasion, the disciplinary commission disciplined Marin with a 20 per cent salary reduction for three months, amounting to approximately BAM1,900 (€ 970.90) in total.

The offences perpetrated by the accused, involving both legal and ethical violations, not only resulted in an unlawful benefit obtained at the expense of the court's budget but also undermined the integrity and credibility of the judicial system. The case also raises concerns about the delay in prosecution, as allegations of wrongdoing reportedly surfaced as early as 2016. Despite the reduced sentence in the final verdict, the case shows that there are consequences for those who breach the law.

Holding perpetrators accountable can restore trust in the Bosnian judicial system and its integrity. Public scrutiny of such cases is also critical as it encourages public servants to abide by the law.