Court Rejects Appeals of Six Faculties: Velagić Starts Registering Employees at UNSA, Salaries for Staff Tomorrow

By: A. Vrabac

The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo rejected the appeals of the Faculty of Political Sciences, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Transport, and the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences against the decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo regarding the legal integration of the University of Sarajevo, specifically the merging of faculties, academies, and scientific research institutions founded by the Canton of Sarajevo into the University of Sarajevo.

The Cantonal Court stated in its decision that the appeals were unfounded.

“The decision of the first-instance court is correct. Article 14 of the Law on Institutions, which applies as lex specialis in this legal matter, stipulates that an institution may expand or change its activities, as well as the type of status change: merger, acquisition, division, and spin-off, and the decision on these changes, according to paragraph 2 of this article, is made by the founder. The Assembly of the Canton, in accordance with Article 142, paragraph 1 of the Law on Higher Education of KS, retains the founder’s rights over the University of Sarajevo and its organizational and sub-organizational units for which it assumed founder’s rights by enacting the Law on Higher Education,” the verdict, which Patria had access to, states.

As confirmed to Patria by the Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Rifat Škrijelj, this verdict from the Cantonal Court also confirmed that the University was in the right and that the appeals were unfounded.

Yesterday, the Rector held a meeting with the newly elected president of the UNSA Trade Union, Amir Zahirović, and a delegation from the Trade Union, which was also attended by the Vice-Rector for Finance of UNSA. The meeting discussed the issue of unpaid salaries for employees of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The Dean of that faculty and former president of the Trade Union, Jasmin Velagić, had refused to de-register employees and register them with the new employer, the University of Sarajevo. He did not comply with any of the deadlines set for him since the first court ruling in July 2021, with the last deadline set by the UNSA Management Board being November 15th. Since Velagić did not act like other deans, the employees were left without salaries, and the Rector had no legal basis to approve salary payments for over 100 employees.

Rector Škrijelj confirmed to Patria that late this afternoon, Dean Velagić informed the University that he had proceeded with de-registering and registering employees with the Tax Administration of the FBiH, thus this organizational unit is finally acting in accordance with the Law on Higher Education of KS, court decisions, the UNSA Management Board, and the Senate.

At today’s session of the UNSA Management Board, the Rector presented information on the situation with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and confirmed that salary payments for ETF employees for November will be approved as early as tomorrow.

With the decision of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo and the registration of the remaining ETF employees at the University of Sarajevo, the legal integration of the University of Sarajevo is officially coming to an end.

However, the question of Dean Velagić’s responsibility remains: he knowingly endangered the employees of the ETF and their livelihoods by opposing legal integration and filing an unfounded appeal, and whether he can remain in his position after all this.