The Council of Ministers' Conflict of Interest Law is a ploy for the EU, an acrobatics of the Trio, HDZ and SNSD, and lawlessness for BiH citizens!

(Patria) - The Draft Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest, as determined by the Council of Ministers of BiH, has been sent to the deputies and delegates in the BiH Parliament, who are expected to meet tomorrow and declare their position on the proposal.

As can be seen by comparing the texts from the Draft Law to the Proposal adopted by the Council of Ministers, significant changes have been made to Article 17, which regulates the verification of data from reports submitted by public officials.

Thus, in the Draft Law, Article 17 had six paragraphs, while in the Proposal it has only four.

The adopted Proposal stipulates that financial and other institutions 'cooperate' with the Commission, which does not oblige them to do so.

The proposal adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH

However, the Draft explicitly stated that institutions, bodies, and legal entities are obliged to provide the requested data on the assets and income of public officials, i.e., to provide the requested documentation in accordance with the law and regulations within the deadline and in the manner determined by the Commission.

The draft that provided for broader powers of the Commission

The Commission will thus only verify the accuracy of the data from the reports of public officials, whereas the Draft provided for verification by comparing the given data with the data on assets and income of public officials obtained by the Commission from institutions, bodies, and legal entities, including banking and other financial organizations that possess this data at all levels of government in BiH.

The Proposal is much more meager, and these institutions are not mentioned, nor are lower levels of government.

Furthermore, the provision that was in the Draft but is missing from the Proposal is also contentious: a public official is obliged to provide a written statement if there is no agreement between the data stated in the report and the actual situation determined by the Commission!

Also eliminated is the article that initiates proceedings against a public official for violating the provisions of the Law if they do not provide a written statement and evidence needed to compare the data stated in the report within 30 days.

This will effectively mean that the Commission will depend on the goodwill of public officials, as well as the bodies that can cooperate with the Commission but are not obliged to do so.

It should also be noted that the draft law on the prevention of conflict of interest submitted by SDA states that institutions and bodies are obliged to cooperate with the Commission, but such a law will certainly not be considered, even though the session is scheduled for March 11.

The commission that will be formed and will determine the existence of a conflict of interest will have seven members from the constituent peoples, who will be equally represented, and one member from the others, in accordance with the BiH Constitution.

You can read the full Draft Law here.