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Support to efforts in European integration process

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The Government of Republika Srpska points out in its latest report to the UN Security Council that is strongly supports Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts in the process of European integration and that the coordination mechanism has proved efficient despite the fact that Bosniak political leaders opposed it.

The 6th part of the 19th Srpska report to the Security Council entitled “Republika Srpska supports the process of BiH accession to the European Union and continues to implement reforms” states that the key test of the coordination mechanism is its application in giving answers to the EC Questionnaire.

“The answers were submitted to the European Commission on February 28, 2018 marking a significant step for BiH on its path to EU membership,” emphasises the document.

The Government underlines that Srpska is diligently working on the implementation of the European Agenda for European Integration and that by the end of 2017 it successfully applied 58 out of the 78 measures under the Reform Agenda, while the remaining 20 measures are being introduced.

“Srpska continues the reforms in order to boost economic growth. Among the top priorities of 2018 are the reforms aiming to relieve burdens on private firms, including the cancellation of parafiscal charges and cost of labour,” notes the Government.

The reform of the BiH Constitutional Court is of paramount importance for the country if it wants to become a state with full sovereignty and a member of the European Union, reads the report, adding that EU officials had made it absolutely clear that BiH cannot become a member as long as foreign judges sit in its Constitutional Court.

The document specifically stresses the fact that the BiH Constitutional Court has continued to obey the orders of the High Representative.

The report recalls that during a press conference held in early April, answering the question why the Court had not made a decision regarding a request for review of constitutionality of certain parts of the FBiH Constitution yet, judges of the Constitutional Court explained that they were waiting for the opinion of the High Representative before making a decision.

The document points to the statement by the Constitutional Court President Mirsad Ceman at the time, who said that “in this case, the High Representative was the legislator and even the constitution-maker, and since he is that without any dispute, he is now given the opportunity to give his opinion.”

“It is absolutely clear that both according to the Dayton Peace Agreement or any other legal instrument, the High Representative does not have the legal powers to act like a ‘constitution-maker’ or influence the procedures or decisions of a constitutional court which is rightly expected to be independent,” states the Srpska Government.

The document finds it unacceptable for the highest judicial authority, whose duty is to observe and fairly interpret the BiH Constitution, to seek instructions and course of action from the High Representative.

“Such statements are an admission that the BiH Constitutional Court is illicitly governed by foreigners headed by the High Representative,” states the report.

The Srpska Government notes in the 6th part of the report that the BiH Constitution gives authority to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly to pass a new law that would replace foreign judges by the expiration of a five-year period since the day of their first appointments, that is, since 1996.

“All Serb and Croat political parties in BiH support the idea of replacing the foreign judges of the BiH Constitutional Court with the local ones. On December 20, 2016 leaders of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats /SNSD/ and the Croatian Democratic Union /HDZ/, the biggest Serb and Croat parties in BiH, stated that their parties were preparing a new law on the Constitutional Court,” reads the document.

The report adds that the Party of Democratic Action /SDA/ unfortunately rejected the reform of the Constitutional Court and passing of the new law because it did not want to break the alliance between the former SDA leaders and foreign members of the Court controlling the party.

 

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Source: srna

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