Izetbegović: Softić is authorised agent of BiH, Ivanić's letter is unconstitutional action

From the cabinet of the member of the Presidency of BiH Bakir Izetbegović, a statement was issued with the aim of providing truthful and complete information about the status of agent Sakib Softić, as well as the entire process of revising the judgment of BiH against Serbia, Patria reports.

1. According to Article 42 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, parties before the Court are represented by agents. The Presidency of BiH, by Decision number: 01-2529-22/02 of 4 October 2002, appointed Sakib Softić as the legal agent of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in the lawsuit of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the capacity of agent of BiH before the International Court of Justice, Softić is authorised to represent BiH and has the legitimacy to undertake all legal actions on behalf of BiH in connection with the BiH lawsuit, as prescribed by the Statute and Rules of the Court. One of these legal actions is the action of initiating the revision procedure of the Judgment of 26 February 2007.

2. The Decision of the Presidency of BiH of 4 October 2002 was adopted in accordance with the Constitution of BiH and the Rules of Procedure of the Presidency of BiH. The Decision entered into force on the day of its adoption. The Decision does not prescribe any limitation on Softić's mandate. This Decision of the Presidency of BiH has never been amended, nor has it ever been repealed. The Presidency of BiH did not relieve Softić of his duty as agent of BiH before the International Court of Justice after the International Court of Justice rendered the Judgment of 26 February 2007. In accordance with all the above, the Decision of the Presidency of BiH of 4 October 2002 represents the official position of the Presidency of BiH, which is in force, must be respected, and must be acted upon accordingly.

3. In the Statute and Rules of the International Court of Justice, there is no provision requiring that the revision procedure of a judgment must be accompanied by a new decision of the competent state authority reappointing the agent of that state before the International Court of Justice. Therefore, according to the Statute and Rules of the Court, a new decision of the Presidency of BiH reappointing the agent of BiH before the International Court of Justice for the revision procedure is not necessary. This is confirmed by the fact that the International Court of Justice, based on the same Decision of the Presidency of BiH of 4 October 2002, accepted Softić as the agent of BiH in the revision procedure of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice of 11 July 1996, which was initiated by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 24 April 2001.

4. The thesis of Mladen Ivanić that it is necessary for the Presidency of BiH to adopt a new decision on initiating the revision procedure of the Judgment of 26 February 2007 and that, in the absence of that decision, Softić has no legitimacy to submit an application on behalf of BiH for initiating the revision procedure of the Judgment of 26 February 2007, is legally unfounded. The Presidency of BiH, by Decision of 4 October 2002, appointed Softić as the agent of BiH before the International Court of Justice, and based on that Decision of the Presidency of BiH, according to the Statute and Rules of the Court, Softić, in the capacity of authorised agent of BiH, has the legitimacy to represent BiH and to undertake on behalf of BiH all legal actions before the Court in connection with the BiH lawsuit as prescribed by the Statute and Rules of the Court, including the action of submitting an application for initiating the revision procedure of the Judgment of 26 February 2007.

5. The letter that Ivanić sent yesterday "through a special envoy" to the International Court of Justice, in which he "disputed anyone's right to submit applications on behalf of BiH", is in direct conflict with the legal and legitimate Decision of the Presidency of BiH of 4 October 2002. That Decision of the Presidency of BiH, which is still in force, represents the official position of the Presidency of BiH. Ivanić's letter represents unconstitutional action aimed at communicating private views that are directly contrary to the official position of the Presidency of BiH expressed in the Decision of the Presidency of BiH of 4 October 2002.