The Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was one of the conditions of the European Union for Bosnia and Herzegovina to start negotiations on membership in the Union.
The Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest was also adopted at an emergency session of the House of Peoples, after the Council of Ministers adopted this law earlier this week. Ten delegates voted for the adoption of this law, while five abstained. The House of Peoples considered it under an urgent procedure, which was the proposal of the Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Davor Bunoza (HDZ).
Before the Law will be adopted, the delegate of the opposition SDA, Šefik Džaferović, noted that the SDA proposed this law some time ago, but that the ruling party ignored it. He pointed out the above as the reason why he does not support that the Law be considered in an urgent procedure, that is, as a reason why he was reluctant to consider it in an urgent procedure.
Džaferović believes that Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2012/2013 had a better Law on Conflict of Interest than the law adopted today. As he said, the then ruling SDP, SNSD and HDZ collapsed the institute for preventing conflicts of interest. He is of the opinion that the Law is quite vague and that this will have consequences when it is applied.
Despite the fact that he believes there are shortcomings, Džaferović emphasized that he is not against, that is, he is reserved when it comes to supporting this law itself. He explained the reticence by saying that it was one of the conditions on the way to the EU.
The delegate of the ruling HDZ, Marina Pendeš, supported the urgent procedure, saying that one should not look for an alibi for prolonging the start of negotiations with the EU.
The delegate of the ruling SNSD, Sredoje Nović, also supported the urgent procedure, and as a reason for that, he emphasized the necessity of starting the negotiations as soon as possible. According to him, it is good that a consensus was reached.
ZNG delegate Zlatko Miletić stated that he would not mind if SDA’s proposal for this law was also considered, but also that he agreed with Nović.
The delegate of the opposition DF, Dženan Đonlagić, stated that this law could suffer the fate of the Law on Residence from a few years ago, i.e. that some could justify themselves if they did not know what the consequences of its adoption would be. He agrees with Džaferović that the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest from 2012 was better.
The authorities claim that the Law complies with EU requirements. The House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina also adopted the Law at today’s emergency session, enabling it to enter into force, Klix.ba reports.
