Banjaluka, September 8 – The Republika Srpska Minister of Justice, Anton Kasipovic, said today in Banjaluka that Srpska has designed a legal solution on the jurisdiction of the BiH Court for the continuation of the dialogue on judicial reform in BiH.
“It is visible, and both domestic and international public agree, that there is a huge problem of a widened jurisdiction of the BiH Court. We feel that it should be clearly stipulated, and an opinion of the BiH High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of last year is similar,” Kasipovic told reporters.
He said that there are many problems with taking over the cases and different interpretations.
“The jurisdiction of the BiH Court should be limited to the prosecution of cases falling under the laws adopted at the BiH level. Every different approach would create problems,” Kasipovic added.
He says that the Republika Srpska Ministry of Justice has offered a protocol for further moves in the process of judicial reform in BiH.
“This means agreement on the Law on the BiH Court which will produce a legal solution that regulates the work of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office. The BiH Criminal Law, the Law on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions and the Law on Real Rights should be enforced,” Kasipovic explained.
He said that Srpska will insist on new dynamics in the prosecution of war crimes.
“The position of the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to the retroactive enforcement of laws must be implemented, particularly when it comes to the Maktouf-Damjanovic ruling,” said the Republika Srpska Justice Minister.
He noted that representatives of the IC, BiH, the FBiH and Brcko District have been informed of the positions of Republika Srpska and solutions it offered.
“Our proposals are well-intentioned and can significantly contribute to the quality of the judiciary of BiH. I expect them to be mostly accepted, which would be a significant success,” Kasipovic has said.
The structured dialogue on judicial reform in BiH should resume on Thursday, September 10, in Brussels.
