Commission for State Property Not Appointed Since 2018, Some Institutions Have Not Submitted Names, RS Registers Property in Its Name

(Patria) - The joint collegium of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH held a session on October 15 this year and adopted a conclusion requesting the Commission for State Property, Determination and Distribution of State Property, and Determination of Rights and Obligations of BiH, Entities, and Brčko District of BiH in the Management of State Property, to submit a detailed report on its work.

The Commission for State Property was established by the Decision on the Establishment of the Commission for State Property at the end of 2004, and the Council of Ministers of BiH amended the Decision on Establishment related to its composition in 2018. Since then until today, a new convocation of the Commission has never been appointed, despite several urgencies.

While avoiding their obligations, some institutions that were supposed to delegate a member to the Commission proceeded to register state property, as is the case with the Republican Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of Republika Srpska, which registered forests in the name of the entity RS. In the last few months, we have increasingly heard from various political actors, as well as from High Representative Christian Schmidt, that "something needs to be done about state property" because investments and the construction of highway sections have been halted. However, the developments with this Commission also show that there has been no political will to resolve this issue at the state level.

As stated in the Information submitted to the Joint Collegium by the Chairperson of the Commission, Džemail Ćibo, the last session was held in 2016, and a new convocation has never been appointed after the amendment of the Decision in 2018.

"The Decision on Establishment stipulates that the Commission for State Property prepares: criteria that will be applied to determine which property belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the entities, and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina; draft legal acts for adoption, which ensure the implementation of the criteria; proposals regarding the registration of property in public registries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the territory of other countries; proposals for criteria for the transfer of property from the entity level and Brčko District to the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina in case of the transfer of competencies from the entities to the level of BiH institutions; proposals for an appropriate method of compensation, if necessary, including an analysis of the financial implications of the proposed solutions regarding expropriation.

A significant authority of the Commission for State Property is given by the provisions of the law on the temporary prohibition of disposal of state property, which stipulates that the Commission for State Property may, upon the proposal of an interested party, decide to exempt certain state property from the temporary prohibition of disposal.

It should be noted that, in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned legal regulations, the Commission for State Property is not the body that makes decisions on the disposal of state property, but rather a body that, upon reasoned requests from interested parties, can allow the exemption of specific real estate from the prohibition of disposal, while the disposal itself is carried out under the conditions and in the manner prescribed by the valid legal regulations," the Information states.

The Commission for State Property is established as a permanent body of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In accordance with Article 6 of the Decision on Establishment, the Commission for State Property has eleven (11) members representing: the Cabinet of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Legal Counsel of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Federal Ministry of Justice; the Federal Legal Counsel; the Federal Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs; the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska; the Legal Counsel of Republika Srpska; the Republican Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of Republika Srpska; and the Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Secretary of the Commission for State Property is a representative of the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commission elects its chairperson from among the members of the Commission for State Property at its constitutive session.

"Each head of an institution represented in the Commission is obliged to ensure that their institution is represented by a representative who has full authority to represent, including the authority to make decisions in its name at Commission sessions. The Council of Ministers makes the decision on appointing the members of the Commission.

Following the amendment of the structure of the Commission for State Property, which occurred by the Decision on Amendments to the Decision on the Establishment of the Commission for State Property, Determination and Distribution of State Property, and Determination of Rights and Obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Entities, and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Management of State Property ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 58/18), due to the fact that despite a large number of urgencies sent by the proposer, namely the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, certain institutions have still not proposed their representatives to the Commission for State Property, the Council of Ministers has not appointed a new convocation of the Commission for State Property to this day. It should be noted that the Commission for State Property held its last session in October 2016, and in the meantime, a number of requests for exemption from the temporary prohibition of disposal of state property have been received.

Article 10 of the Decision on Establishment stipulates that the Commission for State Property is obliged to prepare a final report on its work for the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers by March 31, 2022, and/or to offer draft relevant legal acts," the Information states.

Given that the aforementioned deadline has passed and the Commission for State Property has not been established with its full capacity for work and decision-making, and that the decision on its establishment has not been amended to extend the deadline for the work of the Commission for State Property, the Chairperson of the Commission, Džemail Ćibo, has only submitted Information on the status of the Commission for State Property.