Bandić: The "Trojka" Against the Rule of Law and Citizens, Annulment of the Decision on Paying Court Judgments is Proof Why SBiH Was an Obstacle!

Muamer Bandić, MP in the KS Assembly and member of the GV of the Party of BiH, writes for Patria

Based on the moves made and as time goes by, it is becoming increasingly clear why the Party of BiH is an unacceptable partner for the leaders of the "Trojka" in the Sarajevo Canton. Moreover, any party that advocates for the consistent implementation of laws and the rule of law in practice is unacceptable to them as a partner, while any party with which they can make deals and agreements behind closed doors is desirable, all while publicly selling fairy tales to children about European values and the rule of law.

In just 6-7 months of participation in the KS Government, the Party of BiH has proposed several initiatives that would solve concrete problems for citizens. We proposed a permanent solution to waste management in the Sarajevo Canton by finding a new disposal site. We had a concrete proposal to solve the negative impact on the weighting factor, which reduces the Sarajevo Canton's revenue by almost 130 million KM annually.

We also demanded the execution of court judgments according to the Law on Enforcement Procedure within a realistic timeframe, by the end of the mandate. In this way, we would restore the trust of both canton employees and citizens in the fundamental principles of a democratically organized society, equality before the law.

The attitude towards the internal debt of the Sarajevo Canton, and especially towards the part related to the execution of final court judgments for its own employees, clearly shows how much these professional dealers and swindlers care about the rule of law and the rule of law in practice. I have spoken out countless times about this problem, which bothers me as a lawyer and pains me as a person because we are unable to uphold at least the basic alphabet of the rule of law, which is to institutionally respect and implement final court decisions.

The Sarajevo Canton has lost all lawsuits concerning these labor-legal issues, from the Cantonal Court, through the Constitutional Court, to the European Court of Human Rights. It was even fined by the Constitutional Court of BiH for not implementing enforcement orders for 27 appellants. However, despite all of the above, the KS Government does not respect the law or court decisions and is still trying to find solutions outside the law and according to priorities known only to them, i.e., through connections.

As the head of the SBiH Club, in May of this year, I sent an initiative to the KS Government to annul the illegal public call for out-of-court settlements for the settlement of financial claims from employment based on final and enforceable court decisions awarded to employees in the bodies and institutions of the Sarajevo Canton, and to make payments in accordance with the Law on Enforcement Procedure of the FBiH and to enable the implementation of the enforcement order from the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH AP-3761/20, which is a legal obligation of the KS Government.

The purpose of this initiative was to abolish the illegal practice of the Sarajevo Canton not executing final and enforceable court decisions related to the claims of its own employees, and its goal was to "take a small step towards creating a legal and credible public administration in the Sarajevo Canton." The initiative was rejected at the time by the votes of the clubs of the People and Justice, Our Party, and SDP BiH.

The Party of BiH, while part of the cantonal coalition, proposed a model of gradual execution of these accumulated court judgments over the next 3-4 years, i.e., settling debts to employees by the next elections in 2026, in accordance with the law and the order of execution. Thus, without discriminating against anyone, without connections and artificially created "priorities" for anyone. At the proposal of the Minister of Finance, Emir Dedović, the Sarajevo Canton Government allocated funds in the budget, setting aside 13 million KM for judgments from employment relationships of employees of institutions from the KS budget.



However, after our withdrawal from the coalition, this model was rejected, and the KS Government returned to its initial position, i.e., working outside the law, offering out-of-court settlements and agreements for disputes that were lost in legal proceedings, which is a legal absurdity that does not exist anywhere in world legal practice. From a legal perspective, only a complete fool or a completely desperate person in a difficult financial situation could agree to such a "settlement" or, better yet, blackmail by the authorities. And most likely, the Sarajevo Canton will face new lawsuits and an accumulation of internal debt on this item, which could have been resolved simply and within the framework of the law.

As a consequence of such arrogant actions and constant creation of deception, in the future, we can expect a further decline in the work of public services, because what employee has the desire and will to work for an institution that deceives and steals from them at every step, and a significant increase in the internal debt of the Sarajevo Canton, which is not insignificant at all. Moreover, the internal debt of the Sarajevo Canton may exceed the external debt of the KS by 2-3 times, which is increasing exponentially under the rule of the "Trojka". Of course, all these debts will not be paid from the pockets of the cantonal prime minister or ministers, but from the pockets of the citizens of Sarajevo.

Our refusal to accept further deceptions and the accumulation of internal debt is what made us a "bad partner," because the "Trojka" needs a partner who will be part of their schemes and unconditionally support and cover up their deceptions. That is the insurmountable difference in politics between the Party of BiH and the parties of the "Trojka". Due to such amateur and backroom management of the Canton, very soon, regardless of the sweet-talking fairy tales they serve us through the media, we will be in a situation where the bills for all these deceptions will be delivered to us citizens, regularly every month through increased prices of all public services, while the quality of these services will rapidly decline.