BiH State Property Law sent to parliamentary procedure

(Patria) - The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sent the Proposal of the Law on State Property of BiH into procedure, specifically to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, confirmed for Patria.

The proposal was sent after obtaining a positive opinion from the Agency for Personal Data Protection of BiH.

We recall, with the votes of Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, the Presidency of BiH adopted the Proposal of the Law on State Property in October 2024.

The proposal defines what state property is and under what conditions it can be leased or sold. It also envisages the establishment of a Directorate that will manage the property, and a unique register.

At the beginning of its implementation, if adopted, 3,000,000 marks will need to be allocated for the law.

State property in BiH has been under a disposal ban since 2005, by a decision of the then High Representative Paddy Ashdown, and will remain so until the BiH Parliament adopts a law on it.

It is stated that the law regulates the issue of state property owned by BiH - how it is disposed of, managed, used, and under what conditions it is ceded to others for use.

"Entities and other levels of government in BiH can manage and use or own that state property which is necessary for the exercise of their individual competencies, to the extent they are authorized by this law," the document states.

The law warns that any disposal of state property or change of records after March 1, 1992, when BiH declared independence, is contrary to the law and invalid.

It adds that "the competencies of all territorial-administrative levels of government in BiH will be respected," and that their interests and needs will be taken into account in accordance with the Constitution of BiH.

State property can be sold or leased, and the money obtained is used, among other things, for reforms, job creation, and investments in infrastructure.