Schmidt's Report: Dodik Pursues Secessionist Policy, Attacks on Returnees Continue, ECtHR Judgments Must Be Implemented...

(Patria) - “Undermining the state, its competencies and institutions has remained an element of the secessionist agenda, as has inflammatory and nationalist rhetoric. Illustrative of this are the sessions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) held on March 28 and 29, 2024. On March 28, 2024, the NSRS adopted a series of conclusions, which, among other things, call for the annulment of all decisions of the High Representative, and prohibit their application and publication in the Official Gazette. Even the outcome of the NSRS sessions held on March 28 and 29, 2024, shows that the RS authorities continue to actively undermine the state of BiH, its competencies and institutions, and thus the General Framework Peace Agreement. In addition to actions aimed at this goal, the rhetoric of the members of the ruling coalition in the RS – led by the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik – represents a threat to the order,” stated the report submitted by High Representative Christian Schmidt to the UN Security Council.

You can read the complete report here, and below we will present the key parts of Schmidt's document, which is expected to be presented this week at the UN Security Council session dedicated to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Incidents targeting returnees have continued. There has been a constant flow of reports of violence or provocations against the returnee population, which has further increased the sense of insecurity among this population,” the report stated.

The institutional functionality of BiH, Schmidt claims, has been maintained despite challenges. He notes that modest results have been recorded by state authorities in terms of adopting laws, including legislation necessary within the EU accession process, such as amendments to the BiH Election Law concerning election integrity.

“Further delay in efforts to minimize electoral corruption, fraud, and irregularities would render election integrity measures inapplicable to the October 2024 local elections, with serious consequences for democracy, political stability, and the country's future in the EU. With this in mind, on March 26, 2024, I adopted the Decision on the Promulgation of the Law Amending the Election Law of BiH,” Schmidt stated.

Without such hope, the outflow of people will accelerate even beyond currently alarming levels. The number of those who left BiH between 2013 and 2023 is estimated at 600,000. The country's population is expected to decrease by approximately 45,000 people each year, of whom over 20,000 are young, qualified individuals emigrating abroad due to political instability.

Despite this very difficult political environment, the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH have adopted several laws, taking steps relevant to BiH's aspirations for European Union (EU) accession. The European Commission stated in March 2024 that BiH's general commitment to the EU path has translated into tangible results. Based on the European Commission's recommendations, the European Council decided on March 21 and 22, 2024, to open accession negotiations with BiH, inviting the European Commission to prepare a negotiating framework for its adoption by the Council as soon as all relevant steps are identified, as per the Commission's recommendation of October 12, 2022.

“Currently, the new Draft Law on the HJPC contains a provision that should rectify a serious deficiency in recent amendments. To the detriment of the rule of law, the rigorous asset reporting scheme originally intended to prevent and sanction potential conflicts of interest and irregularities of judges and prosecutors, combat corruption, and improve the perception of the judiciary has been seriously undermined by diluting the obligation of authorities to provide information necessary for verifying asset declarations. This situation does not meet the expectations of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board and the international community, including the OSCE and the OHR, which were formally expressed to the Collegium of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. The law is therefore insufficient, as it makes the application of the law at the state level dependent on the legislation of the entities and Brčko District. Entity and District laws can directly contradict state obligations and thus render state law void, creating the possibility of different legislative treatment for judges and prosecutors depending on their entity origin,” the report stated.

The unprecedented pressure on judicial institutions has continued, the report further states. Precisely in the context of the proceedings against him, the President of the RS accused the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH of serving political interests at the expense of foreigners and threatened not to recognize them in the RS if he were convicted. He even labeled their employees as enemies of the Serbian people.

“Recently, the SNSD proposed laws to abolish the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. The House of Representatives of BiH rejected both proposals on November 20, 2023. Insulting rhetoric calls into question public debate about institutions. Influencing staff and pressuring them and their decision-making is anti-Dayton behavior, and is also legally impermissible,” Schmidt stated.

In the Draft Law on the Courts of BiH, the creation of a separate appellate court at the state level was abandoned, reverting to the current solution where one court has both first-instance and appellate jurisdiction. However, the competent parties cannot agree on the seat of the appellate division. Representatives of the RS seem to insist that it be moved from the capital and located not only in the RS but specifically in Banja Luka. Given the geographical distance from the detention facility and other technical issues of such a solution, including the need to relocate judges and staff, the RS's request was not accepted. Furthermore, the RS authorities are seeking to significantly reduce BiH's criminal jurisdiction, so that the State Court would not have jurisdiction to try criminal offenses prescribed by entity laws when they are inter-entity or have consequences and threaten the values of the entire state. That jurisdiction is the ultimate tool the state has to defend its constitutional values and fulfill its constitutional obligation to ensure the rule of law throughout its territory.

The document states that the “Constitutional Court of BiH is a particular target of the ruling coalition in the RS. Actions against the Court include denying the Court's legitimacy and disrespecting its final and binding decisions in the RS, persistent calls for the removal of international judges from the Court, and persistent failure to fulfill the constitutional obligation to appoint two judges from the RS, thereby hindering the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court of BiH as the guardian of the constitutional and legal order of BiH”.

“On March 18, 2024, a majority of delegates in the PS BiH voted to place the Draft Law on the Constitutional Court, proposed by an SDS delegate, on the agenda, after which a majority of Bosniak delegates left the session. The session was adjourned due to a lack of quorum. The proposal, among other things, aims to remove international judges from the Court and introduce ethnic and entity voting in its decision-making. As such, it is incompatible with the BiH Constitution, European standards, and the principles of judicial independence, impartiality, and integrity. The same applies to the Draft Law on the Termination of Mandates of Foreign Judges and the Election of Domestic Judges to the Constitutional Court of BiH, which the SNSD submitted to the House of Representatives of BiH at the end of March 2024. The High Representative has made it very clear publicly that, within his competencies, he considers pressure on international judges to leave, as well as any legal regulation that would limit their mandate, to be unacceptable,” the report stated.

The High Representative did not integrate any electoral rule changes that some had sought, calling them a way to protect the election of members of the BiH Presidency on a strictly ethnically based system.

“In the opinion of the High Representative, such issues must be resolved in the context of constitutional amendments, which are necessary to abolish discrimination in the acquisition of rights as established in the Sejdić-Finci group of cases before the European Court of Human Rights and similar pending issues,” states Christian Schmidt's report.

Jahorina is not okay, Vareš is

There was considerable preparatory work on the OHR initiative, but no significant progress was made in resolving the issue of state property during the reporting period.

“The Government of the RS adopted a Decision on the sale of immovable property located within the special area of Jahorina on December 28, 2023. According to this decision, the properties subject to public bidding are owned by the RS; however, according to available information, the list of land parcels includes both agricultural and forest land that is subject to the prohibition of disposal of state property and relevant decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Following media reports, the BiH Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against the RS in February, seeking the BiH Court to declare all of it illegal,” it was stated.

On the other hand, Schmidt does not dispute the decisions of the FBiH Government concerning Vareš, specifically the land ceded to Adriatic Metals.

“The FBiH Government adopted the Decision on changing the purpose of forest land and temporary use of forest land for other purposes ('Forest Land Decision') on November 15, 2023. Pursuant to this Decision, forest land can be temporarily used for planned purposes other than forest management, such as the exploitation of mineral raw materials and other natural resources, for the duration of the concession agreement. The intention of the FBiH Government was to fill the existing legal gap caused by the long-term absence of the FBiH Law on Forests, while at the same time striving to respect the Prohibition of Disposal of State Property and enable the realization of important investment projects. The Speaker of the House of Peoples (HP) of BiH, Kemal Ademović, recently filed a request with the Constitutional Court of BiH to assess the constitutionality of this FBiH Government decision (case number U-3/24),” the report stated.

Glorification of War Criminals

“Recently, an existing mural in Čapljina (FBiH) glorifying war criminal Slobodan Praljak was expanded instead of being removed. Despite the criminalization of these practices, murals often remain unreported or unsanctioned. Swift action is important, as on January 9, 2024, two young men were apprehended in Karuše/Doboj Jug (FBiH) while writing the name Ratko Mladić on a bus stop, committing a criminal offense,” Schmidt writes.

On Public Services and FTV

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) faces significant financial challenges, especially after the expiration of the RTV fee collection agreement at the end of 2023. Radio Television of BiH (BHRT), one of the main public broadcasters, has not renewed its agreement with Elektroprivreda BiH and Radio Television of FBiH (RTFBiH), citing a violation of the Law on the Public RTV System due to the misuse of funds by entity broadcasters. Radio Television of RS (RTRS) has been independently collecting RTV fees since 2017 without contributions to BHRT, for which BHRT has been sued for approximately 85 million KM. In the FBiH, RTV fee collection covers about 56% of households, with noticeable non-payment in West Herzegovina. RTFBiH, which manages these funds, retains the portion intended for RTRS, further complicating the situation.

The appointment of members to the Management Board of Radio Television of FBiH has also been long-awaited. As a consequence, there is no supervisory and management structure that effectively fulfills its mandate, which also undermines public trust in the integrity and impartiality of this media institution. On February 27, 2024, my Office joined the EU and the OSCE in a joint letter to the FBiH Parliament, urging it to complete the appointments without further delay.

On the Respirator Case Verdict

“Novalić, Hodžić, and Solak are charged with conspiracy to commit various criminal offenses related to abuse of office and authority, accepting rewards or other benefits for trading influence, money laundering, forgery or destruction of business or trade documents, forgery of official documents, breach of obligation to maintain business or trade records, and preparation of financial statements and their forgery or destruction”.

Economy

Economic activity in BiH has slowed down. The growth rate in the third quarter was 1.9%, significantly below the 3.8% growth rate in 2022. Economic indicators – such as foreign trade and industrial production – confirm the slowdown. BiH's exports fell by 7.1% in 2023, and imports by 3%. Industrial production fell by 8%. Inflation was 6.5%. Foreign direct investment in the third quarter amounted to 1.433 billion KM (an increase of 23.9% compared to the same period in 2022).

BiH Budget

It has become a practice not to meet the December 31 deadline for adopting the state budget for the following year. At the time of submitting the report, the state budget for 2024 has not even been finalized in the BiH Ministry of Finance and Treasury, let alone adopted by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. Although this can be attributed to the eight-month delay in adopting the Global Fiscal Balance and Policy Framework in BiH for the period 2024-2026, as the first step in the state-level budget process, the preparation and adoption of the 2024 budget can also be held hostage by party calculations.

(Istraga.ba)