OSCE and High Representative urge Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to complete property revalidation
(Ayhan Evrensel/OSCE)High Representative for Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Lord Ashdown (right),
and Head of the OSCE Mission,
Ambassador Beecroft, speaking to the
press, 4 July 2002. (Ayhan Evrensel/OSCE) Photo details
SARAJEVO, 5 September 2002 - The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) have expressed their concern that the recently created "revalidation commissions" have not yet started to function effectively in the country.
The revalidation process is essential because there are still a significant number of illegally allocated unclaimed apartments that need to be made available as alternative accommodation.
Some temporary occupants of housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were allocated socially owned apartments during or after the conflict in the country, are entitled to have their right to use such apartments "revalidated". So-called revalidation commissions have been formally appointed throughout most of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their task is to review the legality of this "revalidation" of these occupancy rights, allocated between 1992 and 1998. The revalidation must take place in accordance with strict criteria established since 1999 in the country's property laws and instructions.
On 26 July, the OHR Principal Deputy High Representative, Ambassador Donald Hays, and the OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Robert Beecroft, wrote a letter to the prime ministers of the two Bosnia and Herzegovina entities, the Federation and the Republika Srpska. In the letter, the two principals emphasized the urgency of this legal review of the revalidation process. The letter set out several concrete expectations that the country's authorities at all levels should respect and implement.
In addition, the OHR and OSCE urged the responsible authorities to immediately take steps to ensure appropriate compensation to all those involved in the revalidation review process whose duties in this regard are above and beyond the scope of their regular work.
In many cases, the failure to resolve this issue has blocked the work of revalidation commissions. This failure jeopardized the ability of the entity authorities to complete this process within legal deadlines.
Both the OHR and the OSCE Mission urged the entity authorities to demonstrate their commitment to rule the of law by resolving these issues and expeditiously completing the process of revalidation review.
The revalidation process is essential because there are still a significant number of illegally allocated unclaimed apartments that need to be made available as alternative accommodation.
Some temporary occupants of housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were allocated socially owned apartments during or after the conflict in the country, are entitled to have their right to use such apartments "revalidated". So-called revalidation commissions have been formally appointed throughout most of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their task is to review the legality of this "revalidation" of these occupancy rights, allocated between 1992 and 1998. The revalidation must take place in accordance with strict criteria established since 1999 in the country's property laws and instructions.
On 26 July, the OHR Principal Deputy High Representative, Ambassador Donald Hays, and the OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Robert Beecroft, wrote a letter to the prime ministers of the two Bosnia and Herzegovina entities, the Federation and the Republika Srpska. In the letter, the two principals emphasized the urgency of this legal review of the revalidation process. The letter set out several concrete expectations that the country's authorities at all levels should respect and implement.
In addition, the OHR and OSCE urged the responsible authorities to immediately take steps to ensure appropriate compensation to all those involved in the revalidation review process whose duties in this regard are above and beyond the scope of their regular work.
In many cases, the failure to resolve this issue has blocked the work of revalidation commissions. This failure jeopardized the ability of the entity authorities to complete this process within legal deadlines.
Both the OHR and the OSCE Mission urged the entity authorities to demonstrate their commitment to rule the of law by resolving these issues and expeditiously completing the process of revalidation review.