BUKEJLOVIĆ: EXPANSION OF CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONS OF THE BiH COURT IS UNACCEPTABLE

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 9 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Justice Minister Miloš Bukejlović stated that today’s conference, titled "The Law on the Court of BiH: Challenges of Institutional Imposition and the Defense of the Constitutional Order of Republika Srpska," took a very clear stance that expanding the criminal jurisdiction of this extra-constitutional court is unacceptable, as is the potential introduction of a civil division.

Bukejlović noted that it was a constructive, expert-level conference attended by representatives from all levels of government in BiH, as well as members of the academic and professional community.

"In this way, we had the opportunity to discuss the bills that were before the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and the degree of unacceptability of the versions coming from this body," Bukejlović told reporters after the conference.

He stated that the conference also addressed the potential dangers and harm that the adoption of these bills could cause to Republika Srpska.

“We primarily discussed the scope of jurisdiction defined by the bill, that is, the jurisdiction of the Court of BiH, which would be expanded through the adoption of two versions of the bill that were submitted, one by Marina Pendeš and the other by Predrag Kojović, as well as earlier bills submitted by the Ministry of Justice in the Council of Ministers,” said Bukejlović.

He emphasized that a very clear position was taken: there can be no expansion of the criminal jurisdictions of the extra-constitutional Court of BiH, and the introduction of a civil division is entirely unacceptable.

“We had a very constructive discussion with all participants and representatives of different levels of government from BiH,” Bukejlović added.

The conference, organized by the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska, was held at the Administrative Center of the Republika Srpska Government in Banja Luka. The President and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik and Radovan Višković, respectively, were also in attendance.