Report on Activities of the Legal Services 
of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH 
in rendering free legal assistant to citizens

(Period covered 01.01. – 31.12.2001)

Since the establishment of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a professional legal assistance service (hereinafter: Legal Service) has been active in processing the claims on violation of human rights, filed by the citizens from entire BiH, which mainly refer to: the right to property, that is, return of property (apartments, houses, land, etc…), right to work, right to social protection, violations of the disabled veterans and their families, violation of rights from pension and disabled people insurance, violation of the rights in the privatisation processes, violation of the rights in the field of restitution, as well as other violations of the rights.

The Legal Services processes each claim on the violation of human rights and informs the competent bodies, as well as the international institutions acting in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the degree of violation in each individual case.

The report of the Legal Services processes particularly the violations of human rights of citizens from the territory of BiH (Federation of BiH without the Canton of Sarajevo, Republika Srpska and Brcko District).

In consideration of the number of filed claims on the violation of human rights, the Legal Services, through analyses and estimate of each individual claim, made the following conclusions:

-        The system of violation of human rights is the main characteristic of the behaviour of the state-governmental-judiciary administration.

-        In the majority cases, full and proper implementation of the laws is avoided while passing the legal acts. The laws are consciously irregularly applied, with inappropriate interpretation of the laws, and when the laws are violated, there is no accountability for such behaviour.

-        The irregularities are frequently the result of the directives from “above”.

-        Gross violations of human rights made by the state-governmental-judiciary administration become, in the majority of cases, a rule. In such situations, there is no public political action nor the atmosphere is created to influence on the reduction of gross violations of human rights, but such situation is accepted, there is no accountability for irregularities, holders of such behaviour are not faced with any actions, thus therefore in the territory of BiH, the establishment of the legal state and rule of law is constantly being postponed.

7,045 citizens addressed the Legal Service in 2001, asking for protection of their human rights. Out of that number of claims on the violation of human rights of the citizens in 2001, about 20% was positively resolved. The claimants realised their rights in compliance with the legal regulations. The remaining part of the claims is being kept with the Legal Service and is in the procedure to be resolved. Many claims on the violation of human rights have not been resolved in compliance with the legal regulations since 1997, even more than four years later.

1.

175 citizens from the territory of the BiH Federation, without the Canton of Sarajevo, addressed the Legal Service with their claims on the violation of human rights. These claims were from: Jajce, Kiseljak, Kresevo, Tuzla, Zivinice, Banovici, Gradacac, Zenica, Zavidovici, Visoko, Maglaj, Mostar, Stolac, Capljina, Jablanica, Konjic, Gorazde, Bihac, Sanski Most, Drvar and Velika Kladusa.

The largest number of claims refers to the repossession of property – houses and apartments. 80% of claimants from the abovementioned territories, who reported the violation of human rights in 2000, renewed their claims in 2001, either in person, in written form or through telephone.

2.

262 citizens from the territory of the Republika Srpska addressed the Committee. The claims were coming from: Banja Luka, Derventa, Modrica, Novi Grad, Kozarska Dubica, Prijedor, Zvornik, Vlasenica, Sokolac, Rogatica, Pale, Foca/Srbinje, Srpsko Gorazde, Visegrad, Cajnice, Trebinje, Han Pijesak, Bratunac, Srebrenica, Srpsko Sarajevo.

The largest number of claims refers to the repossession of property – houses and apartments.

90% of claimants from the abovementioned territories, who reported the violation of human rights in 2000, renewed their claims in 2001, either in person, in written form or through telephone.

In the territory of Republika Srpska, the percent of the return of property – houses and apartments to “minority people” is much more less than in the Federation of BiH. There is no doubt that a considerable step forward was made in return of property – apartments and houses in 2001 as compared to the previous year – thanks to the pressures exerted by the international institutions, however, that step could not be qualified as satisfactory step.  In the first half of 2001, there was some higher percent of returns to Republika Srpska, but in the second half of 2001 it started reducing, particularly in the region of the Eastern Bosnia.

3.

13 citizens from the Brcko District addressed the Legal Services with their claims on the violations of human rights.

All claims filed refer to the repossession of property – houses and apartments.

70% of claimants from the abovementioned territories, who reported the violation of human rights in 2000, renewed their claims in 2001.

4.

1,936 citizens from the Canton of Sarajevo addressed the Legal Service with claims on violation of the human rights.

70% of the claims refer to the repossession of property – houses and apartments and the remaining 30% of claims refer to violation of the right to work, violations of the rights from social protection, rights to disabled veterans and their families, violation of the right to pension and disabled persons insurance, violation of the rights in the privatisation and restitution processes.

60% of the claimants from the abovementioned territory, who reported the violation of human rights to the Legal Service in 2000, renewed their claims in 2001.

The Legal Service estimates the majority of the claims on the violation of human rights as reasonable, as gross violation of human rights performed by the competent bodies to citizens, thus grossly violating the protocol 1 of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Apart from violating the Article 1 of the Protocol of the mentioned Convention, the competent bodies also violated the Convention on Protection of Elderly Persons, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Legal Service based such estimate on the following facts:

-        Many claims, filed for repossession of property even in 1998 or in 1999 have not been considered.

-        The decisions on repossession of the property have not been implemented in terms determined by law. In the majority of cases, even three years after the decision was passed, they have not been implemented, and the holders of decisions did not enter their properties.

-        80% of the passed decisions on repossession of property were passed with essential violations of procedures, with irregular fact-finding situation and wrong application of the material law, and therefore had to be reprocessed.

-        The appeal procedures, with the second instance bodies last extremely long. The second instance bodies rarely resolve the cases competently. Almost every second decision of the first instance body is revoked and returned to the first instance body for reconsideration. A large degree of competence is expected from the second instance bodies, since it is their duty, according to the Law, to instruct the first instance bodies in case of violation of the procedure or materials regulations. It is not infrequent that the second instance decision presents a new case of the violation of human rights.

-        Following the claims for repossession of the property, there is a discrimination against the claimants on the scene. The state bodies give more rights to temporary occupants of the property, especially to those temporary occupants who hold certain social positions and who are “protected citizens”.

-        There is also age discrimination as well. Elderly people, who used to live alone before the war, without any family member, are discriminated when resolving their cases.

-        There is also discrimination against the under age children without parents, on the behalf of whom the claims were filed by their tutors or any authorised person.

All the reasons for the abovementioned violations of human rights in the field of property laws can be found in the lack of political will, present in both entities, as well as in the District of Brcko.

The method of work of the Legal Service of the Helsinki Committee in BiH, in many cases of claims on violation of human rights by the citizens, included the conduct of monitoring before the administrative or judiciary bodies. The monitorings conducted in the territory of BiH have shown, particularly before the competent courts the following:

-        The claimants are waiting for court hearing for longer period of time.

-        The scheduled hearings very often are postponed or are not conducted in valid manner.

-        A number of judges, in charge of the cases, are being informed of the case during the hearing. They demand that evidence be conducted and produced that are of no significance for the procedure.

-        Procedures that call for urgency (for example, transgression of property) are being conducted with the competent courts for longer period of time.

-        With the cantonal courts, the cases stay undistributed for more than eight months, etc…

The sluggishness of the competent court, according to the Legal Service cannot be justified with anything. The competent courts do not apply the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In their judgements, the courts very seldom or never cite the Convention, regardless of the role this European Convention has in domestic legal system pursuant to the Dayton Agreement.

5.

100 citizens from the territory of the Federation of BiH addressed the Legal Service, who filed their claims on the violation of human right to work, and 2 persons from Republika Srpska for the same reason.

The majority of claims filed with the Legal Service of the Helsinki Committee in BiH, notwithstanding whether the procedure is conducted before the competent courts or before the Commission for Implementation of the Article 143 of the Labour Act of the Federation of BiH, estimated as reasonable. The estimate of the Legal Service is based on the following:

-        The Labour Act of the BiH Federation, Article 143, foresees that within three month period, from the date of its entry into force, the employees who were in labour relations on the 31 December 1991, are entitled to address the employer either in writing or orally, for establishment of labour-legal status. A great number of employees did it. All the employees, who fulfilled the conditions from the above-mentioned Article of the Labour Act received Decisions or “information” that they had not fulfilled the conditions from the Article of the Law, although they fully met the conditions (the Legal Service knows only one case in which the right of the employee pursuant to the Article 143 of the Labour Act of the F BiH was realised).  The result of the appeals of the employees to the employers managing boards was a negative reply, or the appeals were not considered at all. When the Federal Ministry for Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees made the instructions for implementation of the Article 143 of the Labour Act of the F BiH as by-lay, it created even bigger confusion and space for further prolongation of the procedures that were in course, thus moving the employees further away from resolving their existential issue. The continuation of the procedures before the competent courts, in those cases in which the employees instituted charges to protect their rights resulted in the termination of the procedures with the competent courts, which was in urgent procedure sending the cases to the Commission for Implementation of the Article 143 established in the Canton, as well as in the F of BiH (second-instance commission). The Commission for Implementation of the Article 143 is slow in considering the claims of employees and did not significantly contribute to resolving the issue of the “workers on waiting list”.

6.

Group claims on the violations of the right to work were submitted to the Legal Service by the employees of: “Svjetlost” – publishing company, “Union-Banka” – Sarajevo, “Central Profit Banka” – Sarajevo, Municipality Center – Sarajevo, “Papir promet” – Sarajevo, “DD Dobrinja” – Ilidza, “NTV 99” – Sarajevo, “DD Holiday Inn” – Sarajevo, “Vitez Cromen” – Vitez.

Court proceedings, instituted with the competent courts, on the basis of charges filed by the employees are in course, and in some of the proceedings the Legal Service conducts monitoring.

7.

37 citizens addressed the Legal Service complaining of violation of rights relating to the field of pension and disability insurance.

Having considered every claim, the Legal Service has found out that:

-        Claimants, who as displaced persons returned to their houses – apartments, they had been occupying before the war, can not realise their right to pension in the entity to which they are returning.

-        Many claimants, once when they returned to their homes, were being informed by the employees of the Pension and Disability Fund (PIO) of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska (orally) that they had to cancel their pensions in the entities in which they had stayed before they returned, and with such a cancellation to go to apply in the entity to which they returned in order to continue realising their right to pension. The claims for continuation of use of the pensions were being rejected with decisions issued by first and second instance body of the Pension and Disability Fund (PIO). If a claimant, pensioner was absent from his/her place or state of living, for private reasons (visit to family or friends abroad), the payment of his/her pension was suspended. When they come back to the place of living they had to start all the procedure over again in order to resolve their right to pension.

The Legal Service stresses the issue of violation of human rights of employees who met the conditions for pensions according to the law. While collecting all documents that are to be submitted to the competent branch office of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO), they are being informed that they did not meet the conditions for pension, because their employers had not paid contributions to pension disability fund, as well as for health insurance, for several years. Then, the employers inform the claimants that they do not have financial means for such payments, to meet their legal obligations, and PIO informs them that they cannot realise their rights due to abovementioned reasons. This “vicious circle” in which the claimants, as future pensioners are, is a very frequent appearance.

8. 

Citizens address the Legal Service more frequently because of the violation of the rights in the field of social protection, rights of the disabled veterans and their families.

There is no adequate care for the category of fighters, disabled veterans, civil victims of war, families of killed shehids and soldiers, difficult and complex social cases, elderly people without families, ill and retarded persons, as well as for all other categories of citizens who are in need for protection of their human and humanitarian rights.

The Legal Service deems that the process of resolving of the housing issue for the abovementioned categories should not be burdened with extra and complex procedures on one side, and on the other side we deem that all entities of the society should fully engage in solving their difficult position in each individual case.

9.

Some claims relating to the process of privatisation were addressed to the Legal Service. The citizens in question did not dispute the privatisation as such, but some aspects of the privatisation. 

We deem that the privatisation cannot be fully just, however, process of privatisations must be conducted in legal manner and interests of employees must be taken into account.

When restitution is in question, it is possible to expect, although the process has not started yet, dissatisfaction of the citizens, first of all, of those citizens who are the holders of tenants’ right and members of their households, as well as of lease-holders of business premises who have not realised their rights to buy these premises.

Out of the total number 7,045 claims of the citizens for protection of human rights, in 2001, 2,525 claims were addressed for the first time, and the remaining claims are repeated claims the resolution of which is in course.

No.: 30A-01/2001

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