In four months, 44 civil servants hired: 18 Serbs, 15 Bosniaks, 10 Croats, ADS does not respect national balance

(Patria) - The organization and structure of the civil service in Bosnia and Herzegovina have a significant impact on the functioning of the entire state. Although national counting should not be crucial for the proper functioning of institutions, in BiH this is regulated by the BiH Constitution and Article 7 of the Law on Administration, which stipulates that "in administrative bodies, appropriate national representation of civil servants and employees shall be ensured in accordance with the national structure of the population, according to the last census in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Furthermore, Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates that:

"The structure of civil servants in the civil service roughly reflects the national structure of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the last census."

A year ago, collected data on national representation in state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and it was then determined that there were 783 fewer Bosniak employees than they are entitled to by law and the Constitution.

In the meantime, a new director of the Agency for Civil Service, Anita Markić, was appointed, who was supposed to, among other things, take measures to correct this illegality and to ensure that this number is aligned with legal norms in all future hirings. Based on observations so far, this is clearly not happening; instead, heads of institutions continue to violate the aforementioned legal norms, and the director of the BiH ADS does nothing to warn institutions about illegal work.

According to available information, in the period from January to the end of April 2024, 44 newly employed civil servants were hired in the state service. An analysis of published appointments in the Official Gazette of BiH makes it easy to determine that the majority of employed persons are of Serbian nationality, a total of 18 officials, Bosniaks 15, and Croats 10.

We pointed out that the Council of Ministers of BiH does not comply with the law and provisions as early as the end of February this year, analyzing appointments to positions of directors, deputy directors, ombudsmen, and public administration coordinators. Of the 56 appointments made by then, 20 Serbs, 19 Bosniaks, and 17 Croats were appointed. Of the 23 director positions, six are Bosniaks, namely OSA, DKPT, Directorate for European Integration, BiH Police Support Agency, Mine Clearance Center, and Agency for Identification Documents.

Croats hold eight leadership positions: GP BiH, Directorate for Economic Planning of the BiH Council of Ministers, BiH Agency for Civil Service, public administration coordinator, BiH Institute for Intellectual Property, BiH Agency for Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education, BiH Agency for Education and Professional Training of Personnel, and BiH Anti-Doping Control Agency.

Serbs hold nine leadership positions: Railway Regulatory Board, BiH Directorate for Civil Aviation, BiH Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices, BiH Indirect Taxation Authority, BiH Service for Foreigners' Affairs, BiH Administration for Plant Health Protection, BiH Institute for Standardization, BiH Institute for Metrology, and BiH Agency for Foreign Investment Promotion.

For comparison, Bosniaks previously led the BiH Agency for Civil Service and the BiH Institute for Metrology, but now personnel from among Croats and Serbs have been appointed.

Although the SDP BiH was supposed to get the position of public administration coordinator, this did not happen, so at the session on February 1, 2024, Darko Kasap from HDZ was appointed instead of Samir Sabljica. Through a subsequent competition, Sabljica was appointed deputy coordinator of public administration.