Payments to Detainees Endanger the Budget

The Council for Protection of Vital Interest with the Constitutional Court of RS has determined that the Law does not refer to members of any of the constitutional peoples and that it does not have a national character, but treats all persons equally, so the national interests have not been violated.
 
“The Council has determined that the disputed Law has not violated the vital interests of the Bosniak people, because its norms have not brought into question any of the rights specified in the framework of vital national interest rights guaranteed under the RS Constitution,” the Constitutional Court announced.  
 
The request for determining the violations of national interest was filed by the Club of Bosniak People’s Delegates in the Council of Peoples of RS, claiming that this Law deprives the persons, mostly Bosniaks, who were held in detention camps during the war, of the right to compensation.
 
According to allegations by this Club, such decisions represent a continuation of the process of depriving torture victims of their rights.

Mujo Hadziomerovic, a delegate in the Bosniak Club with the Council of Peoples, told BIRN-Justice Report that the Constitutional Court’s decision was expected.
 
“It is totally understandable that such a decision has been made. During the Law adoption procedure, the reasons for its adoption were presented before the National Assembly. On that occasion it was said that it should be adopted due to the suits being filed by detainees and that those suits could endanger the RS budget,” Hadziomerovic said.
 
Hadziomerovic said that there was a fear that a large number of suits would be filed, considering the fact that many Bosniaks were held in detention camps on the territory of RS.
 
“During the session at which it was said that the suits could endanger the budget, the delegates then considered rendering a decision on RS taking a loan amounting to KM 20 million for the purpose of building apartments for former soldiers and families of killed soldiers, but, of course, they did not say that the mentioned loan would endanger the budget,” Hadziomerovic said.
 
Hadziomerovic further said that the situation in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, was different and that treasuries contained KM 600,000, allocated for payments according to verdicts, which were still awaited.  
 
“The laws in the Federation of BiH have enabled those, who file suits, to get their compensation,” Hadziomerovic explained.
 
Ljubomir Ozegovic, Secretary to the Constitutional Court of RS, said that commenting on the Court’s decision was frivolous, adding that the decisions must be respected, just like all citizens and institutions in RS.