Nezavisne novine: Issuing new identification cards of BiH citizens should start at the beginning of 2013. The new ID will have a chip with the same biometrical data that the passports have, has been said today in Sarajevo by the Minister of Civil Affairs of BiH, Sredoje Nović.
By presenting to journalists the most important changes in the Proposal Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on Identification Card of BiH Citizens, which the members of the Constitution-Legal Commission of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of BiH have been introduced to today, Nović has pointed out that inserting this chip into the ID would additionally and maximally contribute to the safety of documents.
"The second element of changes is electronic signature that will be optional, which would mean that the ID would replace every other card possessed by a citizen. The third change relates to the fact that the citizens will be able to overtake their ID through the post, which will mean saving time and money for citizens", Nović has said. Besides the fact that the citizens will be freed from paying taxes for the ID, he has also said that the price of this document will be determined by the Council of Ministers of BiH and he believes that it should not be high due to the fact that the BiH passport is the cheapest one in Europe.
Nović has pointed out that these changes are in accordance to the European standards, and a special significance of it is in the fact that the most European borders are being crossed only with the ID today, which will be enabled for BiH citizens with these changes as well. "We expect that the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH will understand this need and adopt the changes and amendments to the law, firstly because we should finish the phase of existing ID’s by the middle of next year. Therefore by the end of this year we should announce the tender for new ID’s", Nović has pointed out.
According to him, if the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopts the law in several upcoming months, we will enter the technical part of preparation for issuing new ID’s, and it means that their issuing should start at the beginning of 2013.
He has mentioned the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on Identification Card, which has been temporarily imposed by the international representative in BiH almost three years ago, and which the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has not confirmed yet. "The key regulation has been related to the possibility of taking away the ID and issuing the specific document to the persons suspected for war crimes or to those who are helping such persons", Nović has said and added that there is a question if the law can be changed if some of its regulations have not been confirmed in the Parliamentary Assembly yet, even though such thing has been happening in some other legal decisions.
The commission has supported the legal bases and principles of law with the statement that the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has not confirmed parts of law imposed by the High Representative.