Expert's Word: See How "Lawyer" Zukić Interprets the Deadlines for Forming the Council of Ministers!?

Amir Zukić, Secretary General of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), while a guest on Face TV, further confused the public by claiming that the deadline for establishing the Council of Ministers is March 31, reports the Patria News Agency.

Although Zukić is a lawyer, it remains unclear how he "thinks the deadline of March 11 or March 13 is not binding," as the Law on the Council of Ministers specifies that the deadline for appointing ministers and deputies is 30 days from the confirmation of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers.

- I think there is no deadline for establishing the Council of Ministers. Our final deadline and obligation is March 31 so that we can adopt budgets and so that financial flows in the country can function. March 11 is approximately the deadline by which consultations should be held, but it is not binding. From the moment of appointment to the moment of proposal – Zukić said, without clarifying how the legal provision is not binding and under which law the deadline is now suddenly March 31.

Otherwise, Denis Zvizdić, the designate for the Council of Ministers of BiH, could lose his mandate as Chairperson of the Council of Ministers if the House of Representatives of the Parliament does not soon confirm the new composition of the Council. Everything now depends on the agreement on the distribution of positions in the Government of the Federation, as HDZ BiH insists on this. Time is running out, and the new composition of the Government of the Federation is not yet in sight.

However, the Law on the Council of Ministers of BiH is absolutely clear and states that "if the House of Representatives does not confirm the decision of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers on the appointment of a minister or deputy minister, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers is obliged within a period not exceeding eight days to appoint another person to that position and submit such a decision for confirmation to the House of Representatives, or to resign," it is stated in Article 11.

Article 10 states that "the confirmation of the appointment of the Deputy Chairperson, ministers, and deputy ministers must be completed within thirty (30) days from the date the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers takes office.".

Given that the House of Representatives of BiH confirmed Denis Zvizdić as the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers on February 11, he has nine more days, precisely until March 13, to appoint ministers, as February has 28 days.

Therefore, the deadline for forming the Council of Ministers is not March 11, but March 13.

The upcoming weekend could be crucial, as new negotiations will be held regarding the distribution of functions in the Government of the FBiH. We remind you that the ministers for the Council of Ministers are already known, as the coalition parties have already completed that task.

Otherwise, in the previous composition of the Council of Ministers of BiH, the designate Vjekoslav was confirmed in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH on January 12, and the ministers took their oath on February 10, 2012, which was also at the very end of the legal deadline of 30 days.