KONAKOVIĆ RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGES TO COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CANDIDATE LIST

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, APRIL 16 /SRNA/ – The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković is responsible for altering the list of candidates for judge of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, originally compiled by the BiH Presidency, thereby committing a criminal offense, SNSD MP in the BiH House of Representatives Miroslav Vujičić said in a statement to SRNA.

Vujičić added that altering such lists has never happened before and that responsibility for this action lies solely with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, calling Konaković's conduct unacceptable, as he claims to protect BiH while, through such actions, causes it the most damage. “Criminal responsibility should also be pursued by the State Investigation and Protection Agency and other competent bodies, and I believe the Presidency will also take steps to protect the legality of its work, given that the list was presumably agreed upon within the Presidency despite political differences,” Vujičić said. He stressed that changing the list is unacceptable and, at the very least, constitutes a criminal offense, adding that Konaković bears sole responsibility for disregarding the decisions of the BiH Presidency and is focusing on matters other than running the Ministry. Vujičić reminded that the BiH Presidency is the only institution competent for conducting foreign policy, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Council of Ministers acts merely as an implementing body. He said the question arises as to Konaković's ultimate motive behind this move, and whether it is connected to issues that may be addressed before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg concerning BiH. According to him, Konaković's behavior and actions as minister best reflect the current state of BiH diplomacy. “If we want BiH to function normally, such actions must be avoided. I am certain that the bodies responsible for overseeing the legality of executive authorities in BiH will have to open this issue,” Vujičić stated. Media outlets have published a transcript from the latest session of the BiH Presidency, where the process of appointing a judge from BiH to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was discussed. During the session, an adviser to the Chair of the Presidency, Šahbaz Džihanović, presented information that calls into question the legitimacy of the entire selection process. According to media reports, the transcript quotes Džihanović as saying at the April 1 session that he has evidence the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested that the Presidency Secretariat provide the report in Word format and that the commission's report had been altered, meaning it was not authentically submitted to the Council of Europe.