Renewed initiative for the reconstruction and renovation of the building housing the Faculty of Law and the UNSA Rectorate since 1946

(Patria) – SDA MP in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly Faruk Selmanović has once again submitted an initiative to reconstruct and renovate the facade of the building housing the University of Sarajevo Rectorate and the UNSA Faculty of Law.

“The facades of these buildings have been in poor condition for years. It has been known for years that they pose a safety risk to students, employees, and citizens passing through that part of the city. It has been known for years that collapse is imminent, that renovation is needed, and that the problem has been urgent for the last six years. And for years, nothing has been done. The 'Trojka' coalition, like many other things, duly included this in their agreements, strategies, and public appearances. They promised 'modernization,' 'care for young people,' 'investment in knowledge.' In reality, the buildings where future lawyers and academics are educated are today neglected and dangerous, while responsibility is shifted from one institution to another,” stated Selmanović.

And while an impressive building of the University Library is being constructed in the Campus of the University of Sarajevo, the building that is a reflection of the oldest university in Bosnia and Herzegovina is left to the ravages of time.

It should be noted that the authorities' responsibility towards this building is even greater because it is part of the complex of the Historical Building – the Judicial Palace in Sarajevo, which was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2018.

And while the Government of Sarajevo Canton partially finances the reconstruction of the building that will house additional space for the Municipal and Cantonal Courts, which also belongs to this complex, after the relocation of the Miljacka Penitentiary following Austria's notification to the authorities that the operating permit for the prison complex had expired, there seems to be no interest in renovating the building on Obala Kulina Bana, which is visited daily by students of the Faculty of Law and employees of the University of Sarajevo, as well as numerous international guests.

The entire Justice Palace complex was built in 1916, and after the University of Sarajevo was founded and began operating on December 2, 1949, it was housed in one of the buildings where it has remained to this day, as has the Faculty of Law.

The Judicial Palace building in Sarajevo represents the most representative and significant example of a judicial building from the Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the explanation of the decision of the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments.