HNS is an association and umbrella political organization of Croats: The BiH Ministry of Justice does not find Josip Merdžo's role and views problematic

(Patria) - The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to a parliamentary initiative from January this year requesting that the Council of Ministers of BiH and this Ministry take measures against Josip Merdžo, director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, due to violations of the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, given that Merdžo also holds the position of Secretary General of the Croatian National Assembly of BiH.

At the end of May, the Council of Ministers of BiH obliged the Ministry of Justice of BiH to respond to the parliamentary initiative of Šemsudin Mehmedović, which was supported by the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The Ministry of Justice of BiH, headed by Davor Bunoza (HDZ BiH), finally responded after the Administrative Inspectorate conducted checks based on Merdžo's statement.

Thus, the response states that "the Croatian National Assembly of BiH, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was entered in the Register under number 1635 in book I of the Register, on October 16, 2014."

"Having in mind the aforementioned, given that the Croatian National Assembly of BiH is registered as an association and as such entered in the Register of Associations kept by the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e., that it is not a political party, membership in the said association or holding a position in it cannot be considered a violation of regulations that would constitute a misdemeanor under Article 63a, paragraph 5 of the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Also, following the submitted parliamentary initiative and the allegations from the statement, the Administrative Inspectorate also reviewed the recording of the show Kontekst, Radio-Television of Herceg-Bosna, from October 15, 2024 (recording available on the RTV Herceg-Bosna website: https://rtv-hb.com/emisija/kompas/). Based on the review of the statements given by the director of the Institute, Josip Merdžo, during the said show, the Administrative Inspectorate could not unequivocally establish the existence of a violation of the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of BiH, i.e., it did not find relevant evidence on the basis of which proceedings could be initiated before the competent court to establish misdemeanor liability in this specific case," the response states.

In his statement, Merdžo stated that he is not a member of the management or other boards of political parties and that in performing his duties as director of the Institute, he does not follow instructions from any political party, and that HNS is registered as an association.

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Josip Merdžo uz Čovića na HNS-u: Kršenje Zakona o državnoj službi ne zanima HDZ-ove kadrove Krišto i Bunozu

(Patria) - Iako je u Predstavničkom domu PS BiH još prije dva mjeseca usvojena inicijativa zastupnika Šemsudina Mehmedovića kojom Predstavnički dom obavezuje Vijeće ministara i Ministarstvo pravde da preduzmu mjere protiv Josipa Merdže, direkt

If all this is as claimed by the Ministry of Justice of BiH, then how is it that on the HNS website it is stated that it is "the umbrella political organization of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which gathers parties with a Croatian prefix," and the Club of Delegates in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH bears the name - Croatian Democratic Union - HDZ BiH-HNS.

Therefore, it is evident that HNS takes political positions that are further represented and spread by HNS members, including Merdžo, who made controversial statements in which the Administrative Inspectorate sees no elements of a violation of the Law on Civil Service.

Likewise, Merdžo, from the position of director of the Institute for Intellectual Property, participated in political activities of HDZ and HNS, held trainings at HDZ political academies. However, the Administrative Inspectorate sees nothing problematic in that either.