At a session held yesterday, the Council of Ministers of BiH unanimously adopted, with accepted technical-legal corrections, the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Administrative Procedure. The draft was proposed by the Ministry of Justice with the aim of ensuring the prerequisites for the digital transformation of public administration in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In line with the recommendations of the European Commission, the amendments to the Law will simplify and modernize administrative procedures, shortening the time required to provide services to citizens and businesses. This is achieved by introducing an obligation for administrative bodies to obtain data for which official records are kept ex officio, which represents a significant step forward for the public administration reform process.
The amendments facilitate the initiation of administrative proceedings by applying the “once-only” principle, which is one of the most important changes this Law introduces.
New features in this Law include a single administrative point, which allows a party to submit multiple requests to an administrative body if needed. Additionally, a video communication platform will be introduced, allowing parties to give statements and, where technical conditions are met, to participate in oral hearings.
The Draft Law, with the incorporated technical-legal corrections, will be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for consideration under the standard legislative procedure.