Court to reinstate former director of the Health Insurance Fund of Sarajevo Canton Kenan Crnkić?

In the midst of the healthcare reform in Sarajevo Canton, which according to eminent experts is of questionable quality, new problems are emerging in this area, Patria reports.

On Thursday, 1 December 2016, a hearing was held at the Municipal Court regarding the lawsuit filed by the former director of the Health Insurance Fund (ZZO) of Sarajevo Canton, Kenan Crnkić, represented by Džemil Sabrihafizović, a lawyer from Sarajevo, against the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the ZZO of Sarajevo Canton, concerning the annulment of what is claimed to be an unlawful dismissal from 31 July 2015 from the position of director of the Fund and the termination of his employment contract.

Namely, as is known, Crnkić was dismissed from the said position despite having achieved a positive result of 13,110,750 KM based on publicly available data.

A particularly aggravating circumstance is the fact that Crnkić was on sick leave at the time, and that after the dismissal, in accordance with the Fund's General Acts and the contract, he did not remain employed within the ZZO of Sarajevo Canton but was promptly terminated, deregistered, and literally sent to the employment bureau.

Incidentally, on the same grounds, the Municipal Court in Zenica, on 18 November 2016, issued a ruling in favor of the former director of the ZZO of Zenica-Doboj Canton, Senaid Begić, ordering his reinstatement, retroactive payment of all salaries and contributions, as well as compensation for all legal costs.

It is also interesting to note that, in accordance with the law, the court is obliged to resolve labor disputes urgently, within 15 days. Given that in this case a full 18 months have passed, and considering other actions being taken in panic regarding this matter, the relevant domestic and international institutions have been informed.

Incidentally, if Crnkić is reinstated to the position of director of the ZZO, or if the Court determines that he was unlawfully dismissed, this will trigger a series of other consequences. Consequently, all acts subsequently signed by the newly appointed director, Samir Turković, including decisions on dismissals, transfers, and hirings within the ZZO of Sarajevo Canton, will be withdrawn and annulled.

According to sources within the ZZO, a number of lawsuits and criminal complaints have been filed against Samir Turković by employees, doctors, representatives of associations, and suppliers.

- Given that the Court cannot decide differently on the same matter, and comparing it with the Begić case from Zenica, Crnkić's return is only a matter of days. After all this, the question remains of the responsibility of those who play with taxpayers' money, losing it in court proceedings that were doomed to defeat from the start – says our source from the ZZO.