Meeting with entity ministries for regional planning, assistant ministers responsible for issuing rehabilitation permits, and town planning and building inspectors, held on 23 January 2003 in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to members of the Commission and associates, the meeting was attended by Ramiz Mehmedagić, Federal Minister of Physical Planning and Environment, Vesna Karačić, Vice Minister of Federal Minister of Physical Planning and Environment, Dragica Filipović Čurak, Major Federal Urban-Construction Inspector, Milenko Stanković, Vice Minister for Spatial Regulation, Construction and Ecology of the Republika Srpska; Biljana Marković, Assistant Minister for Spatial Regulation, Construction and Ecology of the Republika Srpska; Dragan Mijović, Major Republic Urban-Construction Inspector in Republika Srpska and Olivera Dragutinović, Associate for Urbanism at the authorized organ of Brčko District.

Chairman and members of the Commission acquainted the present with authorization and work of the Commission, particularly emphasizing transparent performance and acts of the Commission. The purpose of this meeting was enhancement of legally regulated cooperation between the Commission and Entity Ministries and improvement of implementation of decisions made by the Commission. Regarding the ways of cooperation discussed in the meeting, numerous ideas and suggestions were presented.

Amra Hadžimuhamedović laid stress on the Commission keeping Entity Ministries informed on National Monuments at risk from the binding present Provisional List, on contents and measures of protection concerning all Decisions on designation of properties as National Monuments, as well as on petitions received. On the other hand, Ministries should inform the Commission on issuing ordinances on rehabilitation (positive or negative) for the follow-up of the Commission’s Decisions, findings and rulings by urban-construction inspectors, and the implementation. The Commission shall require OHR to support implementation of Commission’s Decisions and Ministries’ ordinances. Amra Hadžimuhamedović highlighted three negative examples in which the Commission required cooperation of the responsible entity authorities in cases of destruction of the remains of Turhan Eminbey Mosque at Ustikolina, damage of Old Town of Stolac with a cross built up of stone from the ramparts and the construction of a basketball playground on the site of Resulbegovićes House in Trebinje, where the regional attorney had not acknowledged Annex 8, authorizations of the Commission and its compulsory decisions.

Ljiljana Ševo pointed out importance of obeying legal procedures in the rehabilitation of national monuments, construction permits issuing and necessity to engage expert teams on the assessment of rehabilitation projects in order to avoid unprofessional work. She mentioned the need to select most important monuments to be rehabilitated.

Ramiz Mehmedagić, Federal Minister of Physical Planning and Environment emphasized the importance of drafting a law on protection of monuments, and particularly the issue of defining owners of protected monuments to be placed at the position of subjects accountable for implementation of Decisions. Besides, within the procedure of implementation of a decision, the role of inspection services is very significant in terms of their obligation to keep surveillance on execution of decisions on site and intervene urgently in cases of unauthorized building, by suspension of it and bringing the procedure of criminal charges. In such situations a more active role of OHR is necessary because the responsible persons should be warned about consequences of obstruction of the Decisions of the Commission and executive organs' and criminal charges should be brought against them.

Milenko Stanković, Vice Minister for Spatial Regulation, Construction and Ecology of the Republika Srpska proposed that certain Monuments from the Provisional List of National Monuments of B&H should be considered as priorities for protection. He informed members of the Commission that the new Law on Spatial Regulation comprising severe measures for prevention of unauthorized building had been in force since 01 September 2002. He pointed out the problem of the National Monuments from the Provisional List that had been illegally erected (structures far larger in dimensions, or of inappropriate materials), i.e. not in compliance with Annex 8 and the Law on Spatial Regulation. He informed on 10 illegally erected monuments having been executed by the Islamic Religious Community in Bosanska Gradiška and at Kobaši. There seemed to be another problem of documentation, since the majority of the documents were kept in the Republic Institute for Protection of the Cultural-Historic and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska. He put a proposal to set up cooperation between the Commission and the Ministry in order to make the process of transmission of documentation faster. Vice Minister emphasized the need of engagement of expert teams in the process of revision of project documentation. He undertook the commitment that the Ministry should send the Commission the list of the Monuments, which have been rehabilitated without proper project documentation.

It was concluded that municipality services should be informed on decisions, solutions and views of the Commission and of Entity Ministries.