TRIŠIĆ BABIĆ: LAWS RETURNED FOR IMPROVEMENT AND FURTHER CONSULTATIONS WITH PROPOSERS

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 21 /SRNA/ - In accordance with the Constitution of Republika Srpska, the Acting President of the Republic, Ana Trišić Babić, has requested that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska reconsider the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code, the Law on the Protection of Public Health from Tobacco Products, and the Law on Employment Engagement in Seasonal and Other Jobs.

The Office of the President of the Republic announced that the aforementioned laws were returned to the National Assembly with the aim of holding additional consultations with the proposers of the laws and improving the solutions contained therein. The Acting President of the Republic said that she held talks today with the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska, Alen Šeranić, regarding the Law on the Protection of Public Health from Tobacco Products. “I believe that a responsible approach requires legislative solutions to be realistic and socially fair, and that we are obliged to create solutions that are applicable in practice and deliver concrete results,” Trišić Babić explained. She emphasized that a particular value of the Law on the Protection of Public Health from Tobacco and Other Smoking Products lies in its intention to protect the health of children and youth, primarily through a ban on the sale of tobacco and all other smoking products to minors. “The goal is that a more complete and comprehensive solution be reached through additional consultations, one that will ensure full protection for non-smokers, reduce the possibility of arbitrary interpretation and selective enforcement, introduce a gradual and reasonable penalty policy, and establish clear standards that can be consistently implemented in practice,” Trišić Babić stressed. She stated that one of the key reasons for returning the law relates precisely to the penalty provisions, which, in their adopted form, were overly strict and disproportionate to the stage at which the law is being introduced. “We discussed that, after the adoption of the Law, preparations should begin for amendments to the Law in the area of penalty policy,” the Acting President of Republika Srpska emphasized. Trišić Babić announced that she will hold talks with the Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska, Goran Selak, regarding the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code, which she has also returned for reconsideration, to achieve the best possible legislative solution. “I believe it is necessary to re-examine the provision in the proposed legislation that allows the same judge or judicial panel, which already imposed a final judgement, to decide whether a prison sentence of up to one year should be replaced with a fine taking into account the positions taken by the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska when ruling on this provision,” Trišić Babić said. She also announced that in the coming days she will hold talks with the Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska, Zora Vidović, regarding the Law on Employment Engagement in Seasonal and Other Jobs, with the aim of improving and regulating this area in a more effective and purposeful manner.