ŽUPLJANIN: PROTECT ORIGINAL COMPETENCIES OF SRPSKA MINISTRY OF INTERIOR

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 2 /SRNA/ – Security expert Slobodan Župljanin believes that the decision of the incomplete Constitutional Court of BiH declaring certain provisions of the Law on Police and the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska unconstitutional represents an attempt at police reform, and that the best institutional response must be found to prevent this intention from succeeding.

"This time, the incomplete Constitutional Court of BiH has struck at the spearhead of Republika Srpska, the police and the Ministry of Interior. What politicians and parliamentarians failed to achieve is now being attempted by that court,” Župljanin told SRNA. He stressed that this is an attempt to transfer the original competencies of the RS MOI, which had previously failed. “Republika Srpska must find the best institutional response to ensure this intention does not succeed and to preserve the original competencies of the best police structure in BiH and the region,” Župljanin said. He pointed out that the incomplete Constitutional Court of BiH, as the driving force of the OHR and the Bosniak political elite, has been consistently working to weaken Republika Srpska. Župljanin concluded that the RS MOI is the best guarantee of protecting citizens, their property, and public order in Republika Srpska. The President of Republika Srpska Siniša Karan said in an interview to SRNA that the aim of declaring certain provisions of the Law on Police and the Ministry of Interior unconstitutional by the incomplete Constitutional Court is a continuation of police reform and an attempt to strip Republika Srpska of its original competencies. He explained that the original jurisdiction of the MOI is to carry out records, processing, and personalization of all personal documents, while the Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange of BiH is a technical service that should only process data technically. However, he noted that the decision of the incomplete Constitutional Court strengthens an institution that was intended to have a completely different purpose.