Schmidt has no intention of intervening in state property: Everything is up to the Council of Ministers of BiH, let them form a Commission

(Patria) - High Representative in BiH Christian Schmidt has no intention of resolving the issue of state property, but has called on the State Property Commission and the Council of Ministers of BiH to make the necessary decisions and resolve issues of property and investments that are blocked.

“We have decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH which has several times requested that the state at its level make a solution for this issue. I also wonder why the possibilities offered by Paddy Ashdown's decision, and my decision, have not been taken into account. Paddy Ashdown, in his decision, said that if there is a public need, i.e., a need for citizens, an exception can be made, if it concerns state property which can then be used for public purposes. My question is why a Commission is not formed to decide what can be an exception, and this will reduce the pressure on mayors and municipalities. In many cases, they do not know what to do regarding some infrastructure projects, industry. This can be done without any changes to the law, but only with the consent of the Council of Ministers of BiH. Where is the Council of Ministers in all of this in these years that have passed”, Schmidt said on Friday on FACE TV.

It should be reminded that the State Property Commission was established by the Decision on the Establishment of the State Property Commission at the end of 2004, and the amendment to the Decision on Establishment concerning the composition was made by the Council of Ministers in 2018. However, since then, a new composition has never been appointed, which has halted the work of that commission.

The joint collegium of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH held a session on October 15 this year and requested a detailed report on the work from the Commission for State Property, determination and distribution of state property, and determination of rights and obligations of BiH, entities, and Brčko District of BiH in managing state property.

While some institutions avoided their obligations and did not delegate a member to the Commission, they proceeded with the registration of state property, as is the case with the Republican Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs of Republika Srpska, which registered forests as property of the entity RS.

As stated in the Information submitted to the Joint Collegium by the President of the Commission, Džemail Ćibo, the last session was held in 2016, and a new composition has never been appointed after the amendment to the Decision in 2018.

“The Decision on Establishment stipulates that the State Property Commission prepares: criteria that will be applied to determine which property belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities, and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina; draft legal acts for adoption, which ensure the implementation of the criteria; proposals regarding the registration of property in public registries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the territory of other countries; proposals for criteria for the transfer of property from the entity level and Brčko District to the Bosnia and Herzegovina level in case of taking over tasks from the jurisdiction of entities to the level of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina; proposals for an appropriate compensation method, if necessary, which includes an analysis of the financial implications of the proposed solutions regarding expropriation.

A significant authorization of the State Property Commission is given by the provisions of the law on the temporary prohibition of disposal of state property, which stipulates that the State Property Commission may, at the proposal of an interested party, decide to exempt certain state property from the temporary prohibition of disposal.

It should be noted that, in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned legal regulations, the State Property Commission is not an authority that makes decisions on the disposal of state property, but an authority that, upon reasoned requests from interested parties, can allow the exemption of a specific property from the prohibition of disposal, while the disposal itself is carried out under the conditions and in the manner prescribed by the valid legal regulations”, the Information states.

The State Property Commission is established as a permanent body of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In accordance with Article 6 of the Decision on Establishment, the State Property Commission has eleven (11) members representing: the Cabinet of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Legal Counsel of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Federal Ministry of Justice; the Federal Legal Counsel; the Federal Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs; the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska; the Legal Counsel of Republika Srpska; the Republican Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs of Republika Srpska; and the Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Each head of the institutions represented in the Commission is obliged to ensure that his institution is represented by a representative who has full authority to represent, including the authority to make decisions in its name at the Commission's sessions. The decision on appointing members of the Commission is made by the Council of Ministers.

Following the amendment to the structure of the State Property Commission, which occurred by the Decision on Amendments to the Decision on the Establishment of the Commission for State Property, Determination and Distribution of State Property, Determination of Rights and Obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Entities, and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Managing State Property (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 58/18), due to the fact that despite numerous urgencies sent by the proposer, namely the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, certain institutions have still not proposed their representatives to the State Property Commission, the Council of Ministers has not appointed a new composition of the State Property Commission to this day. It should be noted that the State Property Commission held its last session in October 2016, and in the meantime, a number of requests for exemption from the temporary prohibition of disposal of state property have been received”, stated Ćibo in his response.