Zvizdić responded to Dodik: BiH has the right to property

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić reacted to the statement of the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik that BiH does not have the right to property, reports the Patria agency.

- Unfounded claims by Milorad Dodik that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have the right to property, but that all property belongs to the entities and Brčko District, are yet another futile attempt to dispute the international legal continuity, integrity, and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Such arbitrary statements have neither legal nor factual basis in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor in the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the sole interpreter of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and whose decisions are binding on all state bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the function of the president of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska.

Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and positive regulations that must be in line with the Constitution, only regular courts and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina have jurisdiction to decide whether someone has the right to property and its protection.

Therefore, the untrue and provocative claims of irresponsible individuals that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have property are completely absurd and part of a continuum of unargued attacks on the independent judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a guarantor of the rule of law of all democratic states.

Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize once again the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which long ago established that "Bosnia and Herzegovina is the titular owner of all property acquired by the Succession Agreement and by succession and continuity from SR BiH, which reflects: statehood, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina." 

Furthermore, the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina has the jurisdiction and obligation to regulate all state property, taking into account the possibility of ceding part of the property to the entities, in accordance with their competencies and needs.

The decision also confirmed the very clear position of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which states: "The Dayton Peace Agreement provides only for territorial demarcation between the two entities, not between the entities and the state. The issue of demarcation between entities does not in any way affect the exercise of jurisdiction by Bosnia and Herzegovina on its territory, nor the ability of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to own property located on the territory of any entity."

Thus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its thousand-year history, has had, has, and will have its property. As for the current issue of registering military property, which has caused great nervousness among forces and individuals from the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity RS who are against civilizational integrations, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue, in accordance with its competencies, to actively and diligently work on realizing the conditions for the activation of the Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in the NATO pact.

I also call on all other institutions and individuals involved in the process of registering prospective military property, as a condition for the activation of the MAP, to complete their work quickly, responsibly, and in accordance with the rule of law, thereby significantly contributing to the stability, security, and prosperity of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Western Balkan region - stated the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić.