Delegates consistently rejected initiatives, draft laws, initiatives

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - At the 4th session of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH), the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Salaries and Allowances in institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed by the House of Representatives of PABiH, was adopted in the first reading.

The House did not adopt the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH under an urgent procedure, proposed by delegate Zlatko Miletić. Previously, the House adopted delegate Miletić's request for this Draft Law to be considered under an urgent legislative procedure.

The negative opinion of the Constitutional and Legal Commission of the House of Peoples on the Draft Law on Supplementing the Election Law of BiH in the first reading, proposed by delegate Denis Bećirović, was adopted. By adopting this opinion, the House rejected this Draft Law. The House adopted the Annual Consolidated Internal Audit Report for 2017. The Consolidated Report on the Financial Management and Control System in institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2017 was also adopted.

The House of Peoples also adopted the Report on the Restructuring of Expenditures of BiH Institutions within Budgetary Expenditures for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2017. The Report on the Application of the Unified Rules for Drafting Legal Regulations in BiH Institutions was also adopted.

The Special Report on the Appearance, Use and Protection of State, i.e., Official Symbols in Bosnia and Herzegovina, submitted by the Institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH, was also adopted.
The Report on the Work of the Attorney's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2018 was referred to the House Collegium for harmonization due to the lack of an entity majority. Along with this report, the House adopted a conclusion requesting the Council of Ministers of BiH to provide information on how much money from the Budget of BiH Institutions has been paid over the last five years for the costs of lawyers in criminal and other proceedings, i.e., for compensation for damages due to detention of persons deprived of liberty who were finally acquitted in criminal proceedings, and how much money has been paid based on judgments of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, for compensation due to violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time).

The House took note of the Report on the Conduct of General Elections and the Report on the Implementation of Laws within the Competence of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2018. The Information on the State of Public Debt of Bosnia and Herzegovina as of December 31, 2017, was also taken note of. The House did not take note of the annual reports of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2017 and 2018. Delegates Lidija Bradara, Dušanka Majkić and Munib Jusufović were appointed from the House of Peoples to the Joint Commission of both houses for achieving an identical text of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Salaries and Allowances in BiH Institutions.

Delegates Lidija Bradara, Sredoje Nović and Munib Jusufović were appointed from the House of Peoples to the Joint Commission of both houses for achieving an identical text of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Labor in BiH Institutions. The House adopted the Decision on Amending the Decision on the Appointment of Members of Standing Commissions of the House of Peoples of PABiH, according to which Munib Jusufović was appointed to the Commission for Foreign and Trade Policy, Customs, Transport and Communications instead of Fahrudin Radončić. The House did not adopt the delegate initiative of Denis Bećirović, which reads: "I submit a delegate initiative instructing the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to, no later than 120 days from the day of adoption of this initiative in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prepare and submit to the parliamentary procedure amendments to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina ensuring full and consistent implementation of four judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases Sejdić/Finci, Azra Zornić, Ilijaz Pilav and Samir Šlaku."

The delegate initiative of Denis Bećirović was not adopted, which reads: "I submit a delegate initiative instructing the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to, no later than 60 days from the day of adoption of this initiative in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prepare and submit to the parliamentary procedure information on the harmonization of curricula of the BiH entities RS and Serbia, with special reference to the compliance of these curricula with the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

The House also did not adopt the delegate initiative of Denis Bećirović, which reads: "I submit a delegate initiative instructing the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to, no later than 60 days from the day of adoption of this initiative in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prepare and submit to the parliamentary procedure amendments to relevant legislation with the aim of implementing the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the lawsuit of Irma Baralija against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the failure to hold elections in the City of Mostar."