CASE BUK BIJELA Constitutional Court to seek prosecution's reaction to non-implementation of Decision, should the 'troika' vote for culprits Tegeltija and Košarac?

By: Rasim Belko

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The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will prepare and submit to the BiH Prosecutor's Office a Decision on the criminal offense of non-implementation of the decision in the case of HE “Buk Bijela”, i.e., on the formation and operation of the Joint Commission for Concessions of BiH. 

This is the epilogue of the review of the appeal by 24 deputies in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament in case U-16/20, which relates to the dispute between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska entity. 

The appeal followed after the RS entity, bypassing Dayton and the law, concluded an international agreement, faking special and parallel ties with Serbia and involving Elektroprivreda Srbije in the Buk Bijela HE project without resolving the issue of state property and border demarcation on the Drina River. 

The Constitutional Court, in its initial decision, ordered the Commission for Concessions to make a decision on this matter. However, after several attempts and postponements, the Commission was unable to perform the requested task. The reason is very clear, the commission is not complete, as some of its members have retired, and ultimately it has become ethnically homogeneous - Serb. 

Due to the non-implementation of the verdict, the Constitutional Court announced the following decision today: “In case number U-16/20 (applicant: twenty-four members of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Constitutional Court has made a decision determining that the Commission for Concessions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its capacity as the Joint Commission for Concessions, within the meaning of Article 4, paragraph 3, and Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Law on Concessions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has not implemented the Partial Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina number U-16/20 of July 16, 2021. The Constitutional Court will submit this decision to the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” 

The first mistake in this procedure was made by the Constitutional Court because it did not accept the request for a temporary measure as a protective mechanism. Politics from the RS entity, led by SNSD cadres whose leader is Milorad Dodik, is responsible for the entire process after the decision of the Constitutional Court. 

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a relatively easy job in this case if they work according to law, statutes, and the Constitution. Because, the jurisdiction and distribution of functions are clear, and it is known by name and surname who the culprits are for why this entire ordeal has lasted so long. 

The persons responsible for the farce surrounding the filling of the BiH Commission for Concessions, which was a political game to gain time, are SNSD members Zoran Tegeltija (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) and Staša Košarac (Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations). 

In an attempt to maneuver in February last year, Tegeltija, by appointing Milomir Amović as the chairman of the BiH Commission for Concessions and Ante Matić as his deputy, tried to ensure that the ethnically homogeneous composition of the Commission, which largely comes from the RS, made a decision favorable to the RS. 

Staša Košarac is responsible for filling, i.e., proposing candidates for the Commission, and he did not do so. He did not do so, calculating that the entire matter would ultimately be resolved at the political table, i.e., in political bargaining. 

It is difficult to predict what the BiH Prosecutor's Office, headed by Milanko Kajganić, will do. It is even more difficult to expect a swift prosecution of those responsible, given Kajganić's ties to SNSD. 

However, what should be a repercussion of today's decision of the Constitutional Court in the HE “Buk Bijela” case is the halting of the appointment of Tegeltija and Košarac to ministerial positions. They may have passed SIPA's checks, but the Decision on non-implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision (criminal offense) will directly burden them. Because, due to their blockades and delays, the Commission did not have the legitimacy or strength to make that decision, and therefore the members of the Commission for Concessions cannot be blamed. 

The question that arises must also be asked to the so-called 'Osmerka', i.e., the parties around the SDP - are you ready to vote for Tegeltija and Košarac, the most responsible in the process of handing over BiH's state property and energy sovereignty to Serbia?