'Sarajevo Police Uniforms Contrary to the Constitution of the Federation of BiH'

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The BiH Consortium of Police and Military Equipment Manufacturers has initiated activities regarding the filing of lawsuits due to, as they state, violations of the Constitution and laws by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton. At the same time, they have sent a request to the President and Vice-Presidents of the Federation of BiH, as well as the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers of the Federation of BiH, 'to enable constitutional and legal protection before the Constitutional Court of the Federation of BiH in relation to this case.'

In 2013, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton adopted the 'Rulebook on Uniforms for Special Geographical Conditions of the MoIA KS,' which prescribed the appearance of all types of uniforms, not just supplementary parts and special uniforms, as stipulated by the federal 'Decree on Uniform Police Uniforms,' according to the Consortium.

'The appearance of uniforms prescribed by the aforementioned Rulebook deviates entirely from the appearance prescribed by the Decree,' the Consortium stated, as reported by the Patria agency.

'In practice, we have a situation where police officers in Sarajevo Canton have completely different uniforms from police officers in other cantons, which violates the Constitution of the Federation of BiH,' the BiH Consortium of Police and Military Equipment Manufacturers added.

Article 4, paragraph a, of Chapter III of the Constitution of the Federation of BiH stipulates that 'Cantons have all competencies not explicitly entrusted to the federal government, and are particularly competent for establishing and supervising police forces that will have uniform federal uniforms with cantonal insignia.' The Decree regulating the appearance, parts, and color of the uniform police uniform for all police forces of the Federation of BiH was adopted by the Government of the Federation of BiH.

'Although the cantonal minister of internal affairs invoked the provisions of the federal Decree, it is quite clear that the Constitution of the Federation of BiH, as well as the federal Decree, has been violated, because the legal possibility of prescribing special, specialized types and parts of police uniforms has been severely misused, and in favor of certain, predominantly imported brands, i.e., representatives of such police equipment,' the Consortium claims.

'The aforementioned 2013 Rulebook is fully adapted and designed in a way that favors only one type of uniform imported into BiH, thereby discriminating against domestic and all other manufacturers, as they have no opportunity to participate in public procurement of uniforms and other equipment in Sarajevo Canton. This causes enormous damage to our companies. We note that we have all been specializing in this type of work for over 20 years. Uniforms and other equipment produced in BiH are currently used by police agencies in numerous European countries.

A similar situation is repeating at the BiH level, as the Council of Ministers of BiH has adopted an almost identical Rulebook, which we have informed the public about on several occasions. We will continue to fight against such behavior by individuals in institutions, and we also appeal to the investigative bodies to get involved in the entire matter,' the Consortium concluded.

The BiH Consortium of Police and Military Equipment Manufacturers consists of: MEN d.o.o. Travnik, Koteks d.o.o. Tešanj, ZENKO d.o.o. Zenica, Textile Industry d.o.o. Mostar, Uslužnost d.o.o. Sarajevo, Sparta d.o.o. Banja Luka, Miltex d.o.o Banja Luka, K.L.M. Prnjavor, and Belt d.o.o. Banja Luka.