Cantonal Court in Goražde Halts Illegal Disposal of State Property

(Patria) - The Cantonal Court in Goražde has issued a ruling that will change the way state resources are managed in Bosnia and Herzegovina! After the Ministry of Economy of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton (BPK) attempted to illegally repurpose 2,450 m² of state-owned forest land for the construction of an access road to the Trešnjica landfill in Goražde, the court unanimously sided with justice and the law.

This is the first precedent of its kind, where the court clearly ruled that any disposal of state property without the consent of the state and competent institutions is not only illegal but also a direct attack on the public good.

The Ministry, without state permission, without the consent of the Commission for State Property, and without a decision by the Council of Ministers, enabled the change of purpose of forest land – a public good owned by all citizens of BiH. To make matters worse, the City of Goražde was not required to pay any compensation, causing double damage to the state. Within the lawsuit prepared by the legal team of the Aarhus Center in BiH, residents of the Glamoč settlement demanded a review of the legality of the decision by which the investor, the City of Goražde, was granted a portion of state-owned forest land to establish an easement right for the construction of an access road to the planned Trešnjica landfill.

Citing decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the court concluded that this was an attempt at the quiet privatization of state resources through a fictitious repurposing of land. The court clearly stated: “State property cannot be disposed of without a state decision. The legal prohibition on disposing of state property must be respected at all levels of government.”

This ruling sends a strong message: state property is not the spoils of cantons or local authorities, but the property of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is a positive example that will ensure such attempts at misuse of public goods do not go unpunished in the future. It also marks the beginning of the end of the illegal disposal of our common resources.

“In addition to considering the Law on the Temporary Prohibition of Disposal of State Property, the Cantonal Court also referred to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, as we requested in the lawsuit, where the court stated that: ‘regardless of the fact that a law regulating the right of ownership and management of state property has not been adopted, there is no justification for a decision by an entity or cantonal government that would change the purpose of forests and forest land or give forest land for temporary use for other purposes.’ In this sentence lies the legal strength of this ruling, which should serve as a warning to everyone that only the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina can dispose of state property,” emphasizes Emina Veljović, Executive Director of the Aarhus Center in BiH.