Konaković losing support for establishing a new tourist board, as it would be an illegal act

With his efforts to establish a new tourist board in the Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo Prime Minister Elmedin Konaković has managed to irritate even some deputies in the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton from the ruling parties, as well as ministers in the Government, Patria writes.

The Prime Minister no longer has stable support for his project.

On the agenda of the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton scheduled for September 7, among other things, deputies will consider a proposal to establish a new Tourist Board of the Sarajevo Canton. However, it is increasingly likely that Konaković's tourist board, in addition to deputies from opposition parties, now lacks the support of some deputies from the ruling parties, primarily the SBB.

The reason for this is that the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton is still before the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is determining whether the law was enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the FBiH. Simply put, the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton, which Prime Minister Konaković cites when presenting his project for a new tourist board, is invalid until the Constitutional Court of the FBiH rules on it.

The Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton adopted the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton at the end of April this year, but deputies from the SDP, DF, BPS, independent deputy Hamed Aljović, and some deputies from the SBB requested a review of the law's constitutionality, because the procedure during the adoption of this law was not followed, i.e., the Canton did not obtain the consent of the Federation.

So, what would happen if the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton on September 7 approves the establishment of a new tourist board in the Sarajevo Canton, and a few days later the Constitutional Court of the FBiH rules that the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton was not enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the FBiH?

Experts in this field are certain that the Constitutional Court will overturn the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton, because it was adopted without the consent of the Parliament of the FBiH. And that was necessary because tourism is a shared area of the canton and the Federation of BiH. Therefore, the Constitutional Court of the FBiH will require the Sarajevo Canton to adopt the Law on Tourism in the Sarajevo Canton in a way that first obtains the consent of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the FBiH.

Patria's interlocutors explain that lawyers have repeatedly tried to explain to Prime Minister Konaković that he should wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH before proceeding with the establishment of a new tourist board, or if the Constitutional Court overturns the law, proceed with drafting a new law, but Konaković did not want to accept such advice. Even his close associates have assessed that Konaković's behavior is arrogant and that the Prime Minister is placing himself above the law. This is why the Prime Minister is losing support.

Konaković has particularly put the cantonal Minister of Justice, Mario Nenadić (SBB), in an awkward position. If Konaković establishes an illegal tourist board in the Sarajevo Canton, the greatest blame could fall on Minister Nenadić, Patria writes.