HDZ and SNSD's attempt to annul Inzko's law in the BiH House of Peoples failed

SARAJevo, (Patria) - At today's session of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a vote was held on the conclusion of the Club of the Serb People, which demands that "those who created Inzko's decision to ban the denial of genocide, annul it themselves".

In addition to the political representatives of the Serbs, HDZ delegates in the House of Peoples Dragan Čović, Marina Pendeš, and Lidija Bradara also voted for this.

Given that all political representatives of Bosniaks, as well as Zlatko Miletić, voted against it, the conclusion was not adopted with an entity majority and was sent for harmonization.

In addition to the annulment of Inzko's decision to ban the denial of genocide, Čović, Pendeš, and Bradara also voted for the Serb conclusion stating that the reason for the non-functioning of the House of Peoples is the "unlawful decision of the High Representative".

The Club of Croats proposed three conclusions, two of which were adopted, and one is sent for harmonization.

The House of Peoples of the PSBiH adopted a conclusion calling for the urgent harmonization of electoral models based on the signed Political Agreement on the Principles of Amendments to the Election Law of BiH of June 17, 2020, in order to ensure the legitimate representation of the constituent peoples in the Presidency of BiH and the Houses of Peoples, and to remove all forms of established inequalities and discrimination, in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH number U-23/14 and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights that are still awaiting execution.

The House of Peoples also called on all political actors to engage in constant dialogue in order to urgently create prerequisites for regular and unimpeded functioning, and to fulfill obligations from the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers of BiH as well as the jurisdiction of the PSBiH.

Due to the lack of an entity majority, the following proposed conclusions of the Club of the Serb People in the House of Peoples of the PSBiH were sent to the Collegium of the House for harmonization:

„The reason for the non-functioning of the House of Peoples of the PSBiH is the unlawful decision of the High Representative Valentin Inzko, by which he attempted to impose amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH, which he did not have the right to do. The authority for imposing laws by the High Representative, as an unelected foreigner, does not exist in the Dayton Agreement and Annex 10, as the only annex that clearly defines the tasks of the High Representative;

- It is necessary that those who created Valentin Inzko's latest decision annul it. The Council of Ministers of BiH should, as soon as possible, propose a way to determine and express the attitude towards committed war crimes and their treatment in public, bearing in mind that a civil war or a "tragic conflict in the region", as defined by the Dayton Agreement, was waged in BiH;

- The House of Peoples of the PSBiH states that the Constitutional Court of BiH, exceeding its jurisdiction and contrary to the constitutional provision that "BiH continues its legal existence under international law as a state, but with an internal system changed as provided for in this Constitution", makes decisions contrary to the Constitution of BiH when it comes to state property. The Constitution of BiH, in Article III 3. a), regulates that "all governmental functions and authorities not expressly assigned to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this Constitution shall belong to the entities";

- The House of Peoples notes that the Constitution of BiH does not expressly grant the "state community of BiH" the right to property, nor the jurisdiction to regulate ownership of state property, so it is necessary to resolve this issue by agreement between the two entities, the cantons of the Federation of BiH, as well as Brčko District, which is jointly owned (condominium) by Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH;

- The House of Peoples supports the initiative of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska for discussion and dialogue between Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the three constituent peoples – Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks on possible solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and invites them to a comprehensive dialogue on the current situation in BiH and possible solutions related to the future of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH.“