Dnevni list: The House of Representatives of the state Parliament has reached the consensus around the principles of the first amendment to the Constitution of BiH, by which the status of the Brčko District as a joint possession of entities has been defined, so it has been enabled the access to the Constitutional Court of BiH. The amendment has been supported by all parties and representatives of position and opposition. Now, there will follow a period of 15 days in which the public deliberations will be held in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla, Banja Luka and Brčko.
Support of the opposition
In that period, the representatives will be proposing the amendments to this amendment, and after that, the House of Representatives will declare itself on a final version. Besides the expected support of the Socio-Democratic Action, the Party of Independent Socio-Democrats and the Croatian Democratic Coalition of BiH, whose representatives are the participants of the Prud process, the amendment has also been supported by the Party for BiH, the Socio-Democratic Party, the Croatian Democratic Coalition 1990., the Serbian Democratic Party, as well as some other smaller parties and independent representatives.
However, part of them has said that they will place the amendments to this one, and by their acceptance they will condition their support in the second reading.
The member of the Party for BiH, Beriz Belkić has pointed out that his party cannot accept the fact that by this text an ethnic approach in addressing the Constitutional Court is being inserted in the constitution for the first time. Namely, for addressing this court there must be the approval of half of the representatives in the Brčko Assembly, but that at least per 1/5 of that goes on Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats.
“Resources of protection can become the resources of blockade”, Belkić has said.
However, Šefik Džaferović from the Socio-Democratic Action has said that besides the Brčko Assembly, appeal to the Constitutional Court can also be submitted by the state institutions and individuals, as are the Presidency, chairman of the Council of Ministers and his deputies and etc., so it cannot come to the blockade.
Return of sovereignty
He has pointed out that it is important that there is no ethnic deciding in the Constitutional Court, and it must remain that way. Leader of the opposition, Zlatko Lagumdžija has given a very positive opinion on this text, so the deputy chairman, Niko Lozančić has said that in one moment he has thought that this is an SDP proposal. Milorad Živković from a Party of Independent Socio-Democrats, has said that by adopting this amendment the international supervision of Brčko is being abolished, and by that BiH once again gets the sovereignty over one part of its territory.