On Saturday it was made public that Niko Lozancic, the President of the Federation, i.e the Bosnian Muslim-Croat entity, recently decided to reduce Prce's sentence by one year.
The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (the country's supreme court) sentenced Prce, a former Bosnian Croat official, to five years in prison after Prce reached a deal with the prosecutors in the Hercegovacka Bank case, agreeing with them to plead guilty, and in return he would get five years' imprisonment. In the same way, a former director of the Hercegovina Osiguranje insurance company, Miroslav Rupcic, was sentenced to five years in jail, after he, too, made a bargain with the prosecution. The trial of another indictee in this case, Ante Jelavic, is still under way.
The duration of Prce's sentence has been calculated from January 2004 when he was arrested together with Jelavic and Rupcic.
Prce's sentence was reduced to four years by a decision made by Lozancic in compliance with the entity's Pardon Act and powers which the entity's President enjoys.
Lozancic was quoted by the Federal Television of Bosnia-Herzegovina as saying that there was nothing contentious in his decision to cut Prce's sentence, as Prce was one in a group of some 40 convicts whom Lozancic pardoned according to the said law and his powers.
However, the justice ministry of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina has contested the legal grounds for this move. The Ministry's secretary, Jusuf Halilagic, has said that convicts whom the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina sentenced, cannot be pardoned under laws of the two entities.
At the moment there is no Pardon Act at the state level, as this law was suspended by the High Representative in 2004 out of fear of its possible abuse.
Judge Macolm Simmons, who made a ruling sentencing Prce to five years in jail, expressed his surprise when he received a report from the Muslim-Croat entity's justice ministry which informed him of the reduction of Prce's sentence.
The Office of the High Representative expressed concern at this move which it said might affect the rule of law.
High Representative Paddy Ashdown is to consider this case next week.
A member of Prce's family was quoted by a local daily as saying that under agreement he reached with the prosecutors in the Hercegovacka Bank case, Prce was promised that he would be released after he served one third of his sentence, which was in May this year.
In September, Prce will again end up in the dock when he together with Jelavic and a former deputy commander of the federal army, General Dragan Curcic, will be put on trial on suspicion that they set up the Croat-self rule in Bosnia.