Old Town Municipality's Reaction to Human Rights Ombudsman's Recommendations

Given the media reports and various interpretations of the recommendations made by the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the complaint filed by Denis Stojnić with this institution, the Old Town Municipality feels obliged to respond in order to inform the public of the accurate facts. The recommendation made by the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina and sent to the Old Town Municipal Council reads:

- To consider the complainant's offer and provide a statement on it, taking into account the commercial interests of the Municipality, as well as the interests of fair compensation determination, considering the area and structure of the premises in accordance with the proposed out-of-court settlement agreement discussed at the Council session in January 2017.

Therefore, it is true that the Municipal Council passed a conclusion on January 26, 2017, tasking the municipal mayor and municipal attorney to draft an out-of-court settlement agreement with Denis Stojnić. It is also true that this agreement was not signed because a settlement could not be reached. The tenant, Denis Stojnić, did not agree to the proposed settlement terms, persistently refusing to pay the rent price he himself offered in the public tender in September 2015 and agreed to all the terms of the lease agreement. The settlement offered the tenant the possibility of paying the debt in installments, but he did not accept it, and the court proceedings continued, and eviction was carried out due to a rent debt amounting to 370,000 KM for the premises at S.H. Muvekita no. 1, the so-called "Tesla".

The Old Town Municipality emphasizes that the competent municipal service has so far carried out over 50 evictions of tenants who have not settled their debts for business premises, thus refuting claims that this tenant was treated unequally and that his rights were violated. On this occasion, we point out that ALL business premises are leased in accordance with the Decision on awarding business premises for lease... Given that the media reports that the Stojnić family approached the Ombudsman Institution, we emphasize that the mentioned family uses three business premises in the Old Town for which agreements have been concluded in accordance with the aforementioned decision and that they have no problem complying with the decision in those premises, while in the case of the so-called "Tesla" business premises, they refuse to honor their contractual obligations.

The recommendations of the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be considered, but the Old Town Municipality will not act contrary to the law, nor will it jeopardize its interests. In this regard, the Old Town Municipality of Sarajevo calls on the Ombudsman Institution to review its recommendations, and by issuing them, not to encourage tenants of municipal business premises to illegal actions and non-payment of rent, which directly affects the budget of the Old Town Municipality, and thus the implementation of projects of interest to the local community and the daily lives of its citizens. Furthermore, issuing such recommendations and their media publication is contrary to the claims of the Ombudsman Institution that their decisions cannot prejudge the outcome of court proceedings in the lawsuit of any party.