The Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Stojanović, gave his consent for the appointment of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was confirmed by the president of the Federation of BiH, Lidija Bradara.
Given that Second Vice President Refik Lendo will not sign the decision, it should go to the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament with two signatures.
Its adoption would be unconstitutional, according to experts. Therefore, if this decision comes before the representatives of the House of Representatives, it will be for the purpose, above all, of measuring the strength of the parliamentary majority. SDA announces criminal charges.
Refik Lendo showed how the decision of the previous convocation of the Federation leadership on the appointment of the federal government turned out.
With three seals and signatures. Now the situation is such that there are only two signatures on the decision on the appointment of the government: President Lidija and Vice President Stojanović.
And as the deadlines are running out, as such, she should most likely appear before the representatives of the House of Representatives on Thursday. The members of the Collegium of this House are sitting at the table tomorrow.
“The collegium of the House of Representatives will be held tomorrow. The agenda and the date of the session will most likely be determined at it. As for expectations, they all enter the domain of speculation and looking into the crystal ball, and I would not deal with that,” says Mirjana Marinković-Lepić, the chairperson of the House of Representatives of the PFBiH.
However, the decision with two signatures is not in accordance with the Constitution. Thus, if the representatives decided to confirm such a decision, it would also be unconstitutional, say legal experts.
“Even if she comes to the House of Representatives, he can consider it and take note that the appointment of the Government has not been made, they can discuss, they can express their opinions, but then it would be unconstitutional in terms of confirming that decision. That decision is not constitutional if there is no the consent of one of the vice presidents,” points out professor of constitutional law Nurko Pobrić.
SDP leader Nermin Nikšić is also aware of this. His coalition partner Dragan Čović believes that such a scenario is feasible. The majority in the houses is guaranteed and claims that it is only necessary to harmonize everything with the Constitution and the Electoral Law.
“It does not occur to us to make any unconstitutional decision in the House of Representatives. The decision that comes to the House of Representatives, which is the decision of the President of the Federation, which was supported by only one of the vice-presidents, is unconstitutional and will not be discussed or voted on, but we will to clearly indicate that we have a parliamentary majority,” says Nikšić.
“We are working as if it will happen on the sixth, I am convinced that we will have the House of Representatives scheduled and when we will be able to do it in accordance with the Constitution and the Law,” Čović states.
If the decision on the appointment is indeed submitted to the House of Representatives, it represents a violation of the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and criminal charges will follow, the SDA says.
“If it happens that President Bradara submits the decision on the appointment of the Government of the Federation of BiH to the House of Representatives without the signatures of both vice-presidents, a criminal complaint will be filed against her. By acting in this way, the President of the Federation of BiH would violate the provisions of the FBiH Constitution and commit the criminal offense of abuse of position or authority,” they point out from SDA.
For the partners in the formation of the Federal Government, after the session of the House of Representatives, a possible further scenario is, for them, the expected and even requested reaction of the high representative. For the SDA, apart from possible criminal charges, the remaining of this technical government is also important.
