Court of BiH confirms new CEC members, Petrić's motion rejected

(Patria) - The Court of BiH rejected Branko Petrić's request to postpone the execution of the administrative act, filed against the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, as unfounded, it was confirmed for Patria from this institution.

Namely, former CEC president Branko Petrić had filed an appeal with the Court of BiH, seeking the annulment of the Decision of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH by which he was dismissed.

With the lawsuit dated 03/19/2020, Petrić initiated administrative litigation against the decision of the defendant, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. The contested decision terminates the mandate of the members of the Central Election Commission of BiH due to the expiration of their term and elects new members, stipulating that the newly elected members assume their duties on the day of election, and that the decision takes effect on the day it is made.

After examining the merits of the request for postponement of the execution of the final administrative act, the Court decided that, based on the plaintiff's claims, which are not substantiated in any way, it cannot be concluded that the execution of the decision would cause damage, especially damage that would be difficult to repair, as no facts or circumstances were stated in that regard, nor were any evidence provided.

“Namely, it is not sufficient for the applicant to refer to the grounds of the lawsuit, as these grounds will be examined when assessing the fairness and legality of the contested final administrative act, but it is necessary in the request to at least make probable the occurrence of such harmful circumstances for the plaintiff, which should be specified by type, amount, and consequences for the plaintiff. Along with the request for postponement of the final administrative act, the plaintiff had to submit evidence and facts regarding all legally prescribed conditions, so that the court could consider all circumstances of the specific case and the consequences of executing the contested administrative act on the plaintiff's personal circumstances, in order to reasonably determine the merits of the submitted request.

Given the above, the Court did not find that the prerequisites for postponing the execution of the contested final administrative act exist, which is why the request was rejected,” the explanation from the Court of BiH states.

We remind you that the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH accepted the proposal of the Member of Parliament from the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), Dragan Mektić, on the election and assumption of office, and the termination of office of the members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH.

Branko Petrić and Novak Božičković, current members of the CEC who were considered loyal to the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), were dismissed from their positions, and Vanja Bjelica-Prutina and Jovan Kalaba were appointed in their place.

Suad Arnautović and Ahmet Šantić were re-elected as members of the CEC.