October 1999

Bosnia Update Memo

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

1. Ongoing changes in the institutional structures

In a significant percentage of cases there are "dead ends," when normal regulatory and legislative subjects deal with a new proposal for laws/bills/decrees etc. Sometimes there are obstructions by one of the ethnic groups, sometimes the parties are unable to reach agreements, and sometimes the Entities' subjects do not come to the requested conclusions. In such cases the High Representative takes over the control and issues the Decisions or even the Laws as an interim measure. The legal basis for such actions are Annex 10 to the General Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and paragraph XI.2 of the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference in Bonn in December 1997. Normally the High Representative gives some period to the particular subjects during which they must bring their own according solutions to ensure compliance. If they fail to do so, the High Representative prolongs the validity of his Decisions.

2. Ongoing changes in the regulatory framework

The regulatory sector is rapidly changing. Most regulatory acts are going through a complete renewal process, and the legislative and executive branches are becoming effective in this area. The Office of High Representative continues to focus its efforts in the area of judicial and legal reform.

On 30 July 1999, exercising the powers vested by the Dayton Peace Agreement and Peace Implementation Council, the High Representative issued a series of Decisions. These were taken following the failure of the relevant local authorities and institutions to reach agreement on a number of issues. The Decisions include:

• Decision on the Restructuring of the Public Service Broadcasting System in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Decision on Freedom on Information and Decriminalisation of Libel and Defamation
• Law on Amendments to the Law on the Supreme Court of Federation
• Law on Amendments to the Law on the Federation Prosecutor's Office
• Decision on the Reconnection of Pre-Conflict Subscribers to the Telephone networks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

3. Ongoing changes in IS policies

The rebuilding of Bosnia and Herzegovina's telecommunications infrastructure made further progress at a Roundtable meeting in Bern, Switzerland on 29-30 April 1999. This meeting, convened by the ITU, in close co-operation with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Sarajevo, agreed on technical principles concerning a new Numbering Plan. The territorial and administrative structures of the country formed the basis for the Numbering Plan. The major benefits of the Plan for telephone users are: easier interconnection between the two entities (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska); the use of one number for the same service throughout the entire country (mobile phone networks, police, ambulance, information etc.); and the use of one country code (387) to reach all regions and districts in the country. Nineteen national Codes to follow the country code 387 were agreed as well as one national access code for GSM Networks (66). From December 2001 at the latest, the National and GSM access codes will be in force, providing a consistent numbering system for the major regions and cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In April 1999, a conference titled "Non-governmental Organisations as Vehicles for Social and Political Change" was held in Sarajevo, with the participation of over sixty NGOs from across the country. The event was designed to support domestic NGOs with designing their own strategies for assuming more vigilant and responsible roles in BiH society. Details of this conference are not known at present and will be included in the next report.

4. Media and telecommunication markets: privatisation, foreign investments, mergers and acquisitions etc

On 30 July 1999, the OHR brought in the Decision on Restructuring the Public Broadcasting System in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By this Decision, the Public Broadcasting System in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be established and will consist of three Public Broadcasters:

• The Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PBS BiH), which will be a public company of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina

• The Radio-Television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTV FBiH), which will be a public company of the FBiH. It is assumed that RTV FBiH will transmit two channels, one for Muslim and one for the Croat ethnic group.

• The Radio Television of Republika Srpska, whose legal form must be established by the Government of RS not later then 15 August 1999. As this did not happen, the High Representative issued the Decision on Amending the Law on Radio-television of Republika Srpska on 31 August 1999, as an interim measure, by which the Public Company Radio Television of Republika Srpska was founded.

The financing of these three public broadcasters shall be supported through a mixed funding system, which includes users' fees, appropriations from the general public budgets, and revenue resulting from advertising. This reconstruction of the public broadcasting system leads to a fully multi-ethnic state-level television broadcaster.

The Framework Law on Privatisation of Enterprises and Banks was adopted on 19 July 1999. The High Representative imposed the Law in July 1998 on an interim basis. The Council of Ministers has adopted the Law in May 1998 with the understanding that the High Representative would establish an independent commission to monitor the privatisation process. The Law, inter alia, ensures the establishment of a secure legal environment for privatisation, protects the principles espoused in the Dayton Peace Agreement and ascertains the eligibility criteria for general claims based on the criteria of pre-war citizenship and permanent residence. To ensure that basic rights embodied in quoted Law are respected, the Office of High Representative issued the paper "Eligibility to Vouchers" that defines the eligibility of citizens for different categories of voucher, considering the differences in the Entity laws.

The Office of the High Representative states in his Report (16 July 1999) that all necessary laws for the implementation of the privatisation process are adopted. This Report further states that this is a good legal basis for the beginning of the process, although laws on restitution as to real estate, which are also essential to the process, remain under discussion.