The Republika Srpska has never recognized Christian Schmidt as a high representative, and relations in this relationship were strained when the question was raised – entity or state property. Everyone, from the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the international community, has dealt with this issue, but still without an answer. The proposal of the Law on immovable property that is used for the functioning of public authorities will be presented to the representatives in the Entity Assembly for the third time, although it was previously declared unconstitutional and was suspended by the high representative.
For the third time, the Law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of the Public Authority will be before the people’s deputies in the Parliament of the Republika Srpska. There are no essential changes compared to the previously adopted solution, the application of which was suspended in April last year by Christian Schmidt, and in September the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared unconstitutional, it was confirmed for BHT1 from the ruling coalition.
SRĐAN MAZALICA, representative in the NSRS (SNSD)
“So there are no big changes, just as there can be no changes to pass a law at the BiH level, state property, these are illusions for small children.”
The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted the legal solution on immovable property used for the functioning of public authorities twice. The only novelty in the new, old solution is in Article 5, which stipulates that upon its entry into force, the last adopted law from December last year, which was also declared unconstitutional by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ceases to be valid. The opposition considers the moves of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community to be frivolous.
MILAN MILIČEVIĆ, president of SDS
“I don’t consider the imposition of anyone and anything as a way to solve political issues. Because imposition implies a reaction, and the reaction to imposition can always be destructive, bad and negative.”
BRANISLAV BORENOVIĆ, president of the PDP
“Sometimes I wonder, wait a minute, come on people, do a reset because this is getting pointless.”
As a reminder, the dominant position for Bosniaks is that Bosnia and Herzegovina should be the holder of ownership rights over all state property. This means that entities and other levels of government could use or own the assets they need to exercise their individual competencies. This would be regulated by a law passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, in the Republika Srpska they decisively reject this solution. If it is imposed, the president of that entity threatens to secede.
MLADEN BUBONJIĆ, analyst
“There are the causes and the narrative and the reasons and the actions that were there when the conflict broke out here. So the Dayton Peace Agreement was, in essence, just a truce, obviously. What was the cause for the outbreak of the war is still present and intensifying have been going on for the last few months, but also years, so it’s really ungrateful to predict where everything is going and what the end will be.”
The legal solution on immovable property used for the functioning of public authorities will be the third item on the agenda at the session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska scheduled for September 26.
