Central Bank of BiH comments Inability to find the Adequate Space for the Main Unit in Sarajevo

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to find out the adequate space for the Sarajevo Main Unit. We are obliged to persevere in the legitimate fulfilment of our task. We are worried that in this project, it is not recognized the interest of the Central Bank of BH, as one of the most important state institutions, while violations of a fundamental rights – the right to property, in post festum opinions and decisions of other institutions, are not a good message, is stated in the press release.

The Central Bank of BH has not officially received the opinion of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, stating that the conceptual design of the Central Bank of BH at the Hastahana site in Sarajevo is not in accordance with the provisions of the Decision to Designate the Historic Urban Landscape of Sarajevo as a National Monument of BH.

Information about this has been published on social networks and at this time we cannot comment on the legal consequences related to the rights of the Central Bank of BH as a legal and conscientious owner of the plot and we will wait for the final decision of the Municipality of Centar in terms of resolving the request of the Central Bank for issuance of the Urban Permit.

The Central Bank of BH purchased the subject land in December 2019, in accordance with applicable regulations, as well as the documents of the Municipality of Centar that are still in force – the Regulatory Plan of the Municipality and the Decision of the Municipal Council. We are conscientious and the legal owner of the plot, and the Purchase Agreement clearly defines that the land was purchased with the sole purpose of building the business facility for needs of the Sarajevo Main Unit.

We remind you once again that the plot owned by the Central Bank of BH has always been a concrete area used as parking lot, bordering the park area. It remains unclear according to which criteria the parking space, which is envisaged for construction by the current Regulatory Plan, can be treated as a national monument.

If for any reason the Municipality of Centar is unable to fulfil its contractual obligations, the Central Bank of BH will use all available legal mechanisms to protect its legitimate interests, because the institution is in a situation of absolute legal uncertainty, and thus as the rightful owner is unable to use the property for the purposes for which it was purchased, although it performed all its contractual obligations properly and in a timely manner.

We especially emphasize that the Decision to declare the Historic Urban Landscape of Sarajevo as a National Monument of BH, was delivered at the end of 2020 – almost a year after the Central Bank of BH carried out the purchase and acquired ownership of the subject plot, which, in addition, has not been covered by the Decision, at all.