Schmidt's Decision: BiH Council of Ministers Must Authorize NUB Employee to Perform Director Duties Within Seven Days

(Patria) - High Representative Christian Schmidt today issued an order supporting the functioning of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In accordance with the continuity of legal regulations established by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the entry into force of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seven cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely: the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Cinematheque of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, continue their legal existence as state institutions, and the laws governing the establishment of these institutions remain in force and continue to apply (unless otherwise determined by competent authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina), and therefore, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains the founder/owner of these institutions, and is thus also obligated to exercise its competencies as founder/owner, including necessary appointments and financing;

Noting that, according to Article 30 of the Law on Ministries and Other Administrative Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within sixty days of the entry into force of this law, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina was obliged to initiate proceedings before the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the adoption of a law regulating the continuation of the work of other institutions, services, and bodies established by regulations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which performed or perform administrative, professional, or other tasks within the scope of Bosnia and Herzegovina's competencies or for the needs of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Also noting that the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in 1888 and later performed its activities in accordance with the Law on the National Museum (“Official Gazette of SR BiH”, No. 20/77) and continues to operate based on the Law on Museum Activity (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 13/93 and 13/94); that the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Law on the Establishment of the Museum of National Liberation (“Official Gazette of Federal BiH”, No. 26/45), renamed and registered as the Public Institution Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina based on a court decision of the Higher Court in Sarajevo, and continues to operate based on the Law on Museum Activity (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 13/93 and 13/94); that the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Decree on the National Library of the Federal BiH (“Official Gazette of Federal BiH”, No. 22/45) and continues to operate based on the Law on Library Activity (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 27/95) as the National and University Library; that the Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in accordance with the Law on Museums („Official Gazette of SRBiH“, No. 53/60) and later continued to operate based on the Law on the Museum of Literature, and then the Law on the Museum of Literature and Performing Arts (“Official Gazette of SRBiH“, No. 20/77), and now performs its activities according to the Law on Museum Activity (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 13/93 and 13/94); that the Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Decision of the Association of the Blind of SRBiH, after the Library of the Association of the Blind of Yugoslavia, founded in 1954, distributed its existing book fund to republican and provincial associations of the blind, and continues to operate based on the Law on the Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 9/95); that the Cinematheque of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been de facto operating since the late 1970s, when a cinematheque department was established within the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was later separated from the Archives of BiH as an independent institution based on the Law on the Cinematheque of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 13/94); and that the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Decision of the Government of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1946, and continued to operate based on the Law on Museum Activity (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 13/93 and 13/94).

Emphasizing that the laws defining the status and scope of activities of these institutions stipulate that the then Assembly of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the sole body authorized to exercise founder's rights, i.e., that the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was designated as the sole founder and owner of these institutions, and that the Law on Institutions (“Official Gazette of RBiH”, No. 6/92, 8/93 and 13/94) stipulated that the Government of RBiH was competent for appointing management bodies in the aforementioned cultural institutions;

Considering that all the aforementioned cultural institutions work on preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a key aspect of the national cultural identity and heritage of the state, and therefore constitute an integral part of the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a key role in maintaining cultural diversity, strengthening the sense of belonging, and preserving cultural heritage for future generations;

Aware that, despite being established by regulations of Bosnia and Herzegovina based on which they should exist and function, these institutions suffer from political obstructions that question the validity of the aforementioned regulations and the ability of competent authorities to resolve this issue by adopting new regulations to ensure their continuous operation;

Given that the current situation regarding the management of these institutions is alarming and poses an immediate threat to their functioning; and that none of the seven mentioned institutions currently have a supervisory or management board, and that six of them have directors appointed by non-state bodies, in order to overcome the obstacles they are constantly exposed to, and that with the resignation of its director, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer able to perform its activities;

Expressing regret that the fundamental rights of employees are being violated, that the functioning of COBISS.BH (Co-operative Online Bibliographic System and Services) is jeopardized, i.e., the digital system for searching and reserving materials in the union catalog of libraries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the catalogs of individual libraries, and that the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the National ISSN Centre, is unable to issue ISSN codes for the identification of each serial publication, ISBN identifiers for books, as well as ISMN numbers for musical editions;

Aware that the current situation may hinder the work of publishers, endanger the academic community, and disrupt the functioning of the other 78 libraries across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and halt the creation of national bibliographies, which are key indicators of the country's spiritual, cultural, scientific, and educational development, reflecting the level of scientific progress and serving as a fundamental tool for preserving cultural heritage and knowledge about the entire national cultural treasure;

Noting that the National and University Library possesses Special Collections which have been declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Decision of the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments;

Therefore, convinced of the urgent need to authorize one of the high-ranking employees of the said institution to temporarily perform the duties of director until the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina fulfill their obligations towards this and other cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Taking into account, bearing in mind, and noting all of the above, the High Representative hereby issues the following Order:

ORDER

supporting the functioning of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Article 1.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the applicable laws, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall authorize an employee of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina to temporarily perform the duties of the director of this institution, until the appointment of management bodies and the final appointment of a director in accordance with the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 2.

If an employee of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not authorized to perform the duties of the director of this institution in accordance with Article 1 of this Order within seven (7) days from the entry into force of this Order, the Head of the Sector for Procurement, Processing, Periodicals, and Official Publications shall be deemed authorized to perform specific tasks on behalf of the institution, which otherwise fall within the director's competence.
The term specific tasks within the meaning of paragraph (1) of this Article includes those tasks that are necessary for the daily management of the institution or for preventing damage to the institution. This includes, among other things, approving the payment of funds to cover the institution's expenses, approving the payment of salaries and contributions for the institution's employees, as well as submitting project proposals to secure the financial resources necessary for the improvement of the institution's work, but does not represent the full scope of authorities that otherwise belong to the position of the institution's director.

Article 3.

The procedure for granting authorization as established in Article 1 of this Order shall apply to every case of a vacancy in the position of director in a cultural institution of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the authorization shall remain in effect until the management bodies of these institutions are appointed, including the final appointment of a director in accordance with applicable laws.

In the event that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not act in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article within seven days of the vacancy occurring in the position of director of the relevant institution from paragraph (1) of this Article, the deputy/assistant director shall be deemed authorized to perform the specific tasks provided for in Article 2, paragraph (2) of this Order. If there is no deputy/assistant director in the institution, or if the deputy/assistant director is unable or unwilling to perform these tasks, the highest-ranking employee of the relevant institution responsible for finances shall be deemed authorized to perform these specific tasks, or if such a person is also unavailable or unable or unwilling to perform these tasks, the employee of the institution responsible for legal, administrative, or related matters shall be deemed authorized to perform the said specific tasks.

Cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina referred to in paragraph (1) of this Order include: the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Cinematheque of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 4.

The authorization from Articles 1, 2, and 3 of this Order shall remain in effect until a different decision is made by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina authorizing another person and defining the scope of their authority, or until the final appointment of the institution's management bodies, including the final appointment of a director.

Article 5.

All acts, actions, and steps necessary to enable the employee authorized under Articles 1, 2, and 3 of this Order to perform duties in accordance with Article 2, paragraph (2) of this Order are hereby deemed to have been adopted or taken, and the authorized employee's ability to fulfill their mandate shall be recognized by all institutions, including commercial legal entities, based on the identification document of the said employee and the decision appointing them to the said position in a cultural institution of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 6.

This Order does not prejudice the legal regulations that are urgently needed to update the regulations concerning the status of cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accordingly, within 60 days from the entry into force of this Order, the competent authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and particularly the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are obliged to submit a proposal(s) to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will, among other things, regulate the management and financing of cultural institutions of importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 7.

This Order is issued on the basis of the international mandate of the High Representative and is not issued by substituting any domestic authority. The Order shall take precedence over any inconsistent provisions of any law, regulation, or act, whether existing or future. This Order is directly applicable and no further action is required to ensure its legal effect.

Article 8.

(1) This Order enters into force immediately and shall be published on the official website of the Office of the High Representative.

(2) This Order shall be published immediately in the “Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.