Džaferović: Laws on HJPC and Court of BiH are unacceptable, numerous objections exist

(Patria) - Delegate of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDA) Šefik Džaferović, after the adjournment of the emergency session due to lack of quorum, stated that the House must be freed from the shackles of those who brutally violate the BiH Constitution and the Rules of Procedure.

"We are witnessing the practice of brutal violation of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples of the PSBiH. I have been in Parliament, in the House of Peoples, for a long time, and I have never witnessed such a practice - that the Speaker of the House takes the fate of the House into their own hands and decides what we, who are equal to them in rights and obligations as delegates, will discuss in this House," said Džaferović.

He adds that this sends a message about what kind of parliament or what kind of government is desired by those symbolized or represented by the current Speaker of the House of Peoples.

Respecting the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure is a fundamental matter, he emphasized, and this issue must be resolved, and "you cannot proceed to resolve other issues until you resolve this fundamental matter".

"This House must operate solely in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples and in no other way. If the Collegium is unclear about what the Rules of Procedure stipulate, then the Rules of Procedure have resolved that situation as well - then they are obliged to delegate that issue to the House, and that is the final instance that should say how we should behave," he recalled.

He stated that the Speaker of the House of Peoples, Nikola Špirić, persistently avoids putting the proposal for his and the dismissal of ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH on the agenda.

"But then it went further - it is arrogantly refused to share the proposal in written form with the delegates, and the proposal of the Deputy Speaker Kemal Ademović to have the House declare itself with a conclusion in this situation is also rejected," explained Džaferović.

He also presented his and the SDA's stance on the offered so-called European laws on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH and the Court of BiH.

"I think these laws are completely unacceptable. The Law on the HJPC of BiH has not passed the Venice Commission's test because it has a mass of controversial issues, and the Law on the Court of BiH has not even passed the Council of Ministers of BiH. We have heard a mass of objections - a reduction in the Court's jurisdiction, the seat, and the very nature of the Court. This is not the reform that BiH needs on its European path," emphasized Džaferović.

He adds that BiH is required to establish a supreme judicial body that will regulate judicial practice for equal protection of human rights throughout BiH.