Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Pivić vs. Grubeša, BiH Prosecutor's Office is also on the move

(Patria) - The BiH Prosecutor's Office should investigate and determine whether there is criminal liability of the state Minister of Justice Josip Grubeša due to the non-implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH in the case of registration in the legal entities register of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Deputy Minister of Justice Nezir Pivić is aware of the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH and believes that it is completely clear and leaves no room for a negative response to the request from the Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH.
 
- What is clear and what represents a fact is that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ordered the registration of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Register, which can be seen in the conclusion of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Assuming that the Ministry has again decided on the request for registration in the Register, based on the Decision of the Constitutional Court, and has made a negative decision on registration only to formally satisfy the repeated decision on the request of the association, it cannot be considered that the decision of the Constitutional Court has been substantially implemented. Given this, I believe there is a basis for criminal liability due to the non-implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pivić stated.

If the answer received by N1 from the Ministry of Justice of BiH is anything to go by, it is clear that an attempt was made to only formally satisfy the verdict of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Regarding the answer, it is stated:

“Regarding your inquiry concerning the Ministry of Justice's actions on the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the case: Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (ASABH), registration in the Register of Legal Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we inform you that the Ministry has made Decision No. UP 08-07-9-2273/13 dated 8.2.2021, by which the request of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina for registration in the Register of Legal Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina was rejected. The reasons for rejecting the applicant are stated in the aforementioned decision, a copy of which you can request in writing for access to information, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Free Access to Information in BiH.”

   Anything is possible in BiH, even that the deputy is not aware of the minister's decisions or cannot influence them.

- From the position of the Deputy Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I have no possibility to influence Minister Grubeša's decisions, and this also applies to the registration of associations and foundations. I especially cannot influence decisions that the expert service prepares for the minister at his request or order. In this regard, I do not know if and what has been decided regarding the registration of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Ministry's Register, nor whether these decisions have a legal basis or a political background, Pivić stated.

In his public statements, Minister Grubeša unequivocally pointed out the non-implementation of the Constitutional Court of BiH's verdicts as one of the shortcomings of the legal system, and in practice, he himself plays with them. In any normal country, this is enough for the dismissal of a minister. The dismissal of Grubeša should be discussed today in the BiH Parliament, and it will be interesting to see the attitude of SDA deputies towards this initiative. Recently, BiH Parliament representative Adil Osmanović criticized Grubeša for his attitude towards ASABH, claiming that he is abusing his position.

– I can only say that it is being done for some political reasons, which are also incomprehensible to me, nothing else. Someone, for purely political reasons, unfortunately, does not want the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to have an Academy of Sciences and Arts. Someone wants it to be reduced to entities, and perhaps even cantons. To some national frameworks, and here is the decision of the Constitutional Court, which is completely clear. I think that there should be sanctions for all those who do not implement the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they are binding – Osmanović stated categorically, said Osmanović.
Whether the Minister of Justice will be sanctioned will be seen very soon.