SEAT OF APPELLATE DIVISION SHOULD BE IN BANJA LUKA, AND HJPC IN ISTOČNO SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, JULY 21 /SRNA/ - Member of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Sredoje Nović presented the SNSD's amendments to the Bill on the Court of BiH and the Bill on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council /HJPC/, which stipulate that the seat of the Appellate Division should be in Banja Luka, and that the HJPC should be based in Istočno Sarajevo.

Nović said that the current Bill on the HJPC stipulates that the body consists of 20 members from various professional backgrounds, and that the SNSD proposes increasing the number to 24, with one member each to be nominated by the Government and the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, as well as by the Government and the Parliament of the Federation of BiH. He reminded that SNSD members of the Serb Caucus in the House of Peoples supported the Bill on the Court of BiH and the Bill on the HJPC, to allow them to be improved during the amendment stage and to attempt to harmonise them. "We believe that the only proper path is to discuss every document and every law within BiH. We do not accept any imposed decisions, whether by the OHR, embassies, or legal and illegal representatives; we are ready to hear all proposals and make decisions on them ourselves within BiH," Nović said at a press conference. He expressed hope that the SNSD's proposed amendments would receive support and serious consideration from the House of Peoples' committees. The House of Peoples adopted the Bill on Amendments to the Law on the Court of BiH and the Bill on the HJPC in the first reading last week.