FAQ

The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the highest - level legislative body of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples. All legislative decisions enter into force upon adoption by both Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The Parliamentary Assembly of BiH enacts laws, approves the budget, and makes decisions on the sources and the amount of revenue, needed for financing the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its international obligations. The Parliamentary Assembly confirms the appointment of the Chair and Members of the Council of Ministers of BiH, grants consent to ratification of international treaties, and makes decisions on other issues necessary for execution of its own responsibilities. The Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH perform legislative, informative and oversight activities, and regulate internal organizations and their own operating methods.

The Houses have separate committees, but also joint committees which deal with different issues. The BiH PA has its Delegations in different international organizations and associations, including other parliamentary bodies.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established through the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which was agreed in the town of Dayton, Ohio, in the United States of America, during the month of November and was signed on 14 December 1995 in Paris.

The mandate of Members of the Parliamentary Assembly prior to 2002 lasted for two years and after the 2002 Elections they are elected and delegated for a four-year mandate.

The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an integral part of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, better known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, which was initialled on 21 November 1995 in the American town of Dayton and signed on 14 December 1995 in Paris.

The text of the BiH Constitution represents Annex 4 of the adopted peace agreement, and it transformed Bosnia and Herzegovina into a complex and decentralized State structure with two Entities – the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska. The original text of the BiH Constitution was written in English.

The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has 15 Delegates; two thirds (including five Bosniacs and five Croats) are from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina while one third (five Serbs) are from the Republika Srpska.

The designated Bosniak or Croat Delegates from the Federation of BiH are elected by Bosniak, or Croat Delegates to the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH, while the Delegates from Republika Srpska are selected by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska.

Quorum comprises nine members of the House of Peoples, provided that at least three Bosniak, three Croat, and three Serb Delegates are present.

The House of Representatives comprises 42 Members, two thirds are elected from the territory of the Federation of BiH and one third from the territory of Republika Srpska.

Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected from their entity, in accordance with the Election Law, and a majority of all members elected to the House of Representatives comprises a quorum.

The Speaker of the House, in agreement with the Deputy Speakers, shall convene the session of the House and propose the agenda under the work plan.

An invitation to the House session shall be sent to delegates at least seven days prior to the date of the planned session unless otherwise stipulated by these Rules of Procedure. The agenda, the materials prepared for the session and, when appropriate, the minutes from the last session shall be attached to the invitation letter sent to delegates.

In urgent cases, when justified, and at the request by at least five delegates, or further to the request of majority of the members in the Collegium of the House, his or her own decision, the Speaker may convene a session within three days. In that case the agenda may be proposed during the session and the materials distributed in the course of the session.

The House Collegium consists of the Speaker and the First and the Second Deputy Speaker of the House.

In accordance to the Rules of Procedure of the House, the Collegium is responsible for enabling delegates to exercise their rights and duties that are related to the execution of their duties and proposing criteria which regulate the rights and duties of professional delegates, establishing cooperation with the House of Representatives, including holding joint sessions of both Houses at the request of the Collegium of the House of Representatives and holding joint sessions of the Collegia of both Houses, exercising rights and duties of the House toward the BiH Presidency and the BiH Council of Ministers in line with the BiH Constitution, law and the Rules of Procedure.

Along with other authorities, the Collegium of the House of Peoples is considering initiatives and proposals submitted to the House in relation to harmonization with the Rules of Procedures, makes the decision on committee responsibilities on reviewing draft laws and other initiatives, consults with the Collegium of the House of Representatives related to definition of annual calendar of sessions, determine proposals on appointment and dismissal of the Secretary of the House and the Secretary of the Common Services of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, appoint and dismiss senior civil servants, proposed by the Collegium of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in line with the Decision on organization of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, cooperation with political parties, other organizations and citizen associations, holding consultations on preparation on the House agenda session, makes decision on interpretation of this Rules of Procedure, until the House regulates the issues and carries out any other duty assigned by the House and the Rules of Procedure.

Representative / Delegate has rights and duties stipulated by the BiH Constitution, Law, Decision, the Code of Conduct in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and the Rules of Procedure.

Representative / Delegate has right and duty to attend sessions of the House and sessions of the committees of the House where he or she is a member. He or she shall take part in this work and shall be engaged in finding solutions and making decisions which shall enable execution of constitutional authorities of BiH institutions.

In executing his or her duties, representative /delegate may take part in the work of a committee where he or she is not a member, without the right to vote.

Representative / Delegate who is not able to participate at the House or committee session or has to leave during the session, shall inform the Speaker of the House or the Chair of the committee on time as well as to explain the reasons for his or her absence.

Representative / Delegate may introduce adoption, changes and amendments to the BiH Constitution, laws and other regulations, and implement other procedures from the Rules of Procedure.

Representative / Delegate has right to freedom of action and expression.

Representative / Delegate is required to deal with matters of political and public interest.

Representative / Delegate realise rights and duties in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, in national and international institutions where elected as delegate - representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, by communication with citizens, NGOs, representatives of all levels of government and political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of other countries, international organizations, at public meetings and through media.

After the oath, the House shall establish three caucuses of the constituent Peoples; Bosniak People Caucus, Croat People Caucus, and Serb People Caucus.

Caucuses shall be established by the delegates in the House especially to prepare, propose and consider items on the agenda for the House sessions.

Each Caucus shall define independently its organization and work and shall select a Chair and his or her Deputy.

In order to create convenient conditions for Caucus participation in House activities, they have right to have official facilities, finances, administrative, technical and other conditions to work, based on the decision of the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs.

The House establishes its permanent and provisional committees and, along with the House of Representatives, joint permanent and provisional committees of both Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The tasks and the composition of a committee are determined by a conclusion of the House.

A committee comprises not more than six members. Distribution of seats must be proportional to caucuses of peoples at the House, of which two-thirds of the members are elected from the territory of the Federation of BiH and one-third from the territory of Republika Srpska.
The committee elects from amongst its members and from amongst three constituent peoples its Chairman and the First and Second Deputy Chairmen.

The committee produces opinions, submits proposals and reports to the House and performs other duties as prescribed by the Rules of Procedure or law. The committee passes decisions on matters that the Home transferred to the responsibility of the committee, but the responsibility of law adoption cannot be transferred to the committee.

The committee shall submit annual activity reports to the House.

Representatives/delegates may pose questions and submit initiatives to the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, to any member of the BiH Council of Ministers and to all the institutions of BiH within the scope of their responsibilities. The questions shall refer to specific situation in certain fields and enforcement of the law and other acts of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. shall refer to work of ministries and other state government bodies.

MP’s questions shall be posed orally or in writing, while MP’s initiatives shall be submitted in writing only.

MP’s questions may be posed to the Office of the High Representative of BiH in writing.

Representatives /delegates may pose questions in writing to the Council of Ministers of BiH, i.e. to any member of the Council of Ministers of BiH, at the beginning of each first monthly session of the House, before discussion on agenda and along with live TV coverage.

A representative/delegate may pose one question which must be briefly and clearly formulated, so the response can be instant and without its preparations. Afterwards, a member/delegate can say whether she or he is satisfied with the response.

If a representative /delegate is not satisfied with the response, she or he can ask for a response in writing within 15 days.

Representatives /delegates shall pose oral questions by announcing their request to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH and to a member of the Council of Ministers of BiH, who is a recipient. An announcement should be in writing, latest 24 hours before the House session.

A member of the Council of Ministers of BiH, to whom the question is addressed, has duty to respond to the posed question at the same session or state the reasons why cannot answer the question. In that case, she or he has duty to provide an oral respond on the next House session, within the time foreseen for MP’s questions.

The Speaker of the House, in agreement with Deputy Speakers, convenes a session of the House and proposes the agenda to the representatives according to the work plan.

The invitation for a session of the House shall be distributed to the representatives ten days before the date of the scheduled session unless regulated otherwise by these Rules of Procedure. The agenda, the materials prepared for the session and, as the case may be, the minutes of the previous session, shall be distributed to the representatives together with the invitation for the session.

Exceptionally, for justified reasons and upon request of at least five representatives, or upon request of the majority of members of the Collegium of the House, the Speaker may convene a session within three days upon the request is received. In that case, the agenda for the session shall be proposed when it is held.

The Collegium of the House is composed of the Speaker, First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker of the House.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives, the Collegium is responsible for: exercising the rights and duties of representatives related to their function and drafting the proposed criteria regulating the rights and duties of professional representatives, co-operation with the House of Peoples, including holding a joint plenary session of both Houses at its own request or at the request of the Collegium of the House of Peoples and holding joint sessions of the Collegia, realisation of the House’s rights and duties toward the BiH Presidency and the BiH Council of Ministers, in accordance with the BiH Constitution, law and these Rules of Procedure.

The Collegium also considers initiatives and proposals submitted to the House in view of their harmonisation with these Rules of Procedure, decides which committee is competent to consider a draft law or other initiatives, consults with the Collegium of the House of Peoples regarding establishment of the annual calendar of the sessions, prepare proposals for the appointment and dismissal of the Secretary of the House as well as proposals for the appointment and dismissal of the Secretary of the Common Services of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, appoint and dismiss senior civil servants at the proposal of the Collegium of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and in accordance with the Decision on Organization of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, co-operates with political parties, organisations and associations of citizens, decides on interpretation of Rules of Procedure, until this issue is regulated by the House, and exercises other competencies that may affect the work of the House, and perform other tasks appointed by the House of Representatives and these Rules of Procedure.

Caucuses are established by representatives in the House especially to prepare and establish the House’s session agenda. A minimum of three representatives are required to establish a caucus.

Representatives who have not entered any specific caucus may be a member of mixed caucuses. The rights and duties of mixed caucuses shall be the same as those of all other caucuses.

An independent representative shall have the same rights and duties as representative who is member of caucus.

Each caucus shall have a Chair and Deputy Chair, and they shall independently regulate its organisation and functioning.

In order to create optimal conditions for the participation of caucuses in the activities of the House, the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs shall decide on the allocation of financial resources, office premises, as well as administrative, technical and other services required for the caucuses’ work.

All decisions in the House are made by majority vote of those present and voting. Representatives and delegates shall make maximum efforts that the majority includes at least one third of the votes of representatives or delegates from each Entity.

If the majority of votes does not include one third of the votes from each Entity, the Collegium will make efforts, working as a Committee, to reach a consensus within next three days. If the Speaker and Deputy Speakers reach an agreement, the relevant decision of the House shall be considered adopted, and the House will be informed appropriately. Approval is reached by consensus of the Speaker and the two Deputy Speakers.

If the Collegium fails to reach a consensus, or if it reches consensus about a new solution that was not subject to the voting procedure of the House, the decision shall be passed by a majority of all representatives or delegates attending and voting, provided that dissenting votes do not include two thirds or more of the representatives or delegates elected from either Entity. In case a rapresentative does not vote "in favour", "against" or "abstain", and he/she is present during the vote, he/she is considered to be "abstained".

The House of Representatives shall establish permanent and temporary committees of the House and, together with the House of Peoples, joint, permanent and temporary committees of both Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The tasks and the composition of the committee shall be determined by a conclusion of the House.

Permanent committees shall be comprised of nine members, while temporary committees may be comprised of up to nine members. The composition of committees shall be proportionate to the size of caucuses in the House, two thirds of whom shall be elected from the territory of the Federation of BiH, while one third shall be elected from the territory of Republika Srpska.

The committees shall elect the Chair, First and Second Deputy Chair from amongst their members. They shall be elected from the ranks of the three constituent peoples.

Committees shall render opinions, submit proposals and reports to the House, as well as exercise other duties as provided by these Rules of Procedure or the law. Committees shall decide on issues that are delegated to them by the House, except for those regarding the adoption of draft laws which is a competency that cannot be delegated to the committees.

Committees shall submit activity reports to the House on a yearly basis.

The minutes contain information related to the date, place and time of the session, the issues addressed, the names and the official duties of the participants in the discussions, voting results and adopted decisions.

Representative / delegate may request that his warning, concerning a possible violation of the Constitution of BiH or the Rules of Procedure, is to be entered into the minutes.

Rules of Procedure of both the House of Peoples and House of Representatives prescribe that the adoption of the minutes of a session held shall be submitted for adoption at the following session.

Each Member / Delegate shall be entitled to pass comments on the minutes. Decisions on the comments’ justifiability shall be adopted at the session without discussion. If the comments are adopted, the minutes shall be amended accordingly.

Minutes or portion of the minutes subject to comments shall be deemed adopted. 

The minutes of discussions held in the Houses are entirely available to the public and they are published on the website of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. The exception to the said information that is published is the information for which it can be expected that the disclosure could cause damage to the legitimate foreign policy goals, defence and security interests, as well as the protection of public security, monetary policy interests, prevention of crime and any detection of crime, protection of decision-making proceedings of a public authority in giving opinion, advice or recommendation of public authority, an employee in a public authority, or any person performing duties for or on behalf of a public authority, but it does not involve factual, statistical, scientific or technical information, and other goals stipulated by the Freedom of Access to Information Act in BiH.

Joint sessions of both Houses are convened by the Speakers of the Houses when the Joint Collegium is of the opinion that it is necessary, then on ceremonial occasions, and in exceptional circumstances, as well as upon request of the Presidency of BiH.

A joint session of both Houses is alternately chaired by the two Speakers and the agenda of the joint session of both Houses is determined by the Joint Collegium.

At the time of decision-making, the Houses vote separately and they apply provisions of the Rules of Procedure pertaining to the particular House. (read more under the question: "How are decisions made at the sessions of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples?)

A proposed draft law may be introduced by any representative, or a delegate, committees of the House, joint committees of both Houses, the Houses, as well as by the BiH Presidency and the BiH Council of Ministers within the scope of their respective competencies.

The proposed draft law shall be submitted to the Speaker who shall refer it immediately to the Collegium of the House and to the Legislative-Legal Sector of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Collegium shall forward the proposed draft law to the Constitutional-Legal Committee within seven days for its opinion on compliance with the BiH Constitution and the legal system, and then forward it to the competent committee for an opinion on the principles on which the proposed draft law is grounded.
If the proponent is a representative or a committee of the House of Representatives, and the Collegium of the House of Representatives determines that the joint committee is the competent committee, the draft law shall be submitted to the Collegium of the House of Peoples. After the Collegium of the House of Peoples determines that the competent committee is the joint committee, the proposed draft law shall be forwarded to the Constitutional-Legal Committees of both Houses. After the Constitutional-Legal Committees provide their opinions, the procedure before the joint committee shall be continued pursuant to the Rules of Procedure of both Houses.

If the proponent of the draft law is a delegate or a committee of the House of Peoples of PABiH, and the Collegium of the House of Peoples determines that a joint committee is the competent committee, the draft law shall be submitted to the Collegium of the House of Representatives. After the Collegium of the House of Representatives determines that the competent committee is the joint committee, the draft law shall be submitted to the Constitutional-Legal Committees of both Houses. After the Constitutional-Legal Committees provide their opinions, the procedure before the joint committee shall be continued pursuant to the Rules of Procedures of both Houses.

The Rules of Procedure stipulates that the draft laws can be considered in basic, summary or emergency procedures. In basic and summary procedures, the draft laws shall be considered by the Houses in two readings.

If the House agrees to consider a draft law in summary procedure, all the terms from the regular legislative procedure shall be reduced to a half, and the Collegium may additionally limit the duration of debate.

The emergency procedure may be employed when the draft law is given high emergency status, i.e. when the draft law is not so complex that it could be either adopted or rejected (there shall be no options for amendments).

In the first committee phase, the Constitutional – Legal Committee shall consider whether the draft law is harmonized with the BiH Constitution and the legal system. The responsible committee shall consider the principles on which the draft law is grounded. The opinions by the committee can be either positive or negative. After receiving the opinions by the Constitutional – Legal Committee and the responsible committee, as submitted by the Speaker of the House, the Collegium shall include the draft law in the agenda of a session of the House, to be held within seven to fifteen days.

If the opinions by the Constitutional – Legal Committee or the responsible committee are negative, the opinions shall be submitted to the House for consideration in the first reading and voting. If a negative opinion is adopted, the draft law shall be considered rejected. If a negative opinion is rejected, the draft law shall be returned to the committee, whose opinion was negative, for further consideration. If the opinions by the committees are positive, the draft law, including the opinions, shall be submitted to the House for consideration and adoption in the first reading.

A draft law, adopted in the first reading, shall be submitted firstly to the responsible committee, and afterwards to the House, for consideration and adoption in the second reading, during which the text of the proposed law and potential amendments shall be discussed. Upon adoption of the text of a draft law by one of the Houses, the draft law shall be forwarded to the other House, where the entire procedure shall be repeated.

Each draft law shall be considered passed, when it has been adopted by both Houses in identical text. If the text adopted by both Houses is not identical, the Joint Committee shall be established in order to agree on identical text. If one of the Houses does not adopt the report by the Joint Committee, the draft law shall be considered rejected.

The Committee shall decide by simple majority, provided that at least the majority of the members are present. In making final decisions that are not subject to the House vote, the committee shall decide according to the procedure stipulated for decision-making at the session of the House, given that the efforts to reach an agreement are made by the Chair, First and Second Deputy Chair.

The Joint Committee shall adopt decisions by a simple majority of members present and voting, provided that the said majority includes at least one third of the members of each House present and voting and one representative of each constituent people, which has at least one representative present and voting. Notwithstanding this provision, the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs of the PABiH, when making the final decisions, shall decide according to the procedure stipulated for decision-making at the session of the House.

The Constitutional-Legal Committee of the House of Peoples monitors the implementation of the BiH Constitution; considers issues relevant to the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina and makes suggestions for amendments to the BiH Constitution; examines and submits to the House opinions on proposed amendments to the BiH Constitution; when the House deems it necessary, holds public hearings about proposed amendments to the BiH Constitution or draft laws and informs the House about the results of such public debate; considers draft laws which the House may approve with a view to assessing their conformity with the BiH Constitution and the legal system as well as the standard legal wording of draft laws; also, reports to the House its opinions of and proposals for legal and technical corrections of the obvious errors noticed in the text of draft laws; considers legislative methodology issues and other issues relevant to the standard legal wording of draft laws to be considered by the House; presents opinions to the BiH Constitutional Court; takes part in preparing the work program related to the House’s legislative activity; makes, jointly with the relevant committee of the House of Representatives, a revised text of draft laws and other regulations if and when so authorized by both Houses of the BiH PA; In accordance to the Rules of Procedure, considers motions for lifting immunity and proposes relevant decisions to the House with respect to immunity.

The Committee considers issues which pertain to: the legal system, the electoral system, the BiH Council of Ministers, public holidays at the state level, the coat of arms, the flag and the state anthem of BiH, the seal of BiH, state administration, the implementation of international and national criminal legislation and other issues within the House’s scope of responsibility which do not fall within the scope of other committees.

The Committee on Foreign Trade Policy, Customs, Transportations and Communications monitors the implementation of the foreign policy of the BiH Presidency and the BiH Council of Ministers; considers issues of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations and the international community as a whole; considers issues of inter-parliamentary cooperation with the appropriate committees of parliaments in other countries; considers issues of cooperation with the Council of Europe, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Central European Initiative and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as other international organizations; considers issues of cooperation with the institutions of BiH that are responsible for foreign affairs and international relations; considers the activities of permanent or ad hoc delegations of the BiH PA to inter-parliamentary institutions, considers issues relevant to giving and withdrawing the consent for ratification of international treaties, agreements and conventions; considers issues regarding the cancellation of international treaties, agreements and conventions; considers issues which refer to foreign trade policy; considers issues regarding international trade agreements; considers issues regarding customs policy, tariffs, regulations and laws within its own scope; considers issues regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international commitments; considers relations with international trade institutions and issues regarding travel documents, the establishment and operation of mutual and international communications, the issues regarding the regulation of the international and inter-entity transportation, as well as issues related to civil aviation and information - communication technologies, and other issues within the area of international and foreign affairs, foreign trade, customs, transport and communications.

The Committee on Finance and Budget of the House of Peoples considers issues related to the BiH Central Bank; the banking system except for banking policy; foreign debt; the funding of the institutions of BiH, the functioning of the financial institutions at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina; regulations pertaining to finance and budget; fiscal and credit policy; the execution and oversight of the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina; decisions on debt accumulation, reprogramming of debts and other financial liabilities of Bosnia and Herzegovina; reports of the Audit Office of the Institutions of BiH, as well as its competences set forth by the Law on Auditing of BiH institutions, monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the audit report of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, in collaboration with the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs, undertakes all appropriate measures to eliminate the imperfections found in the audit report, and pursues inter-parliamentary cooperation with counterpart committees in parliaments of other countries.

The Committee considers also other issues regarding finance and the budget, in accordance to the Rules of Procedure.

Constitutional-Legal Committee of the House of Representatives monitors the compliance with the BiH Constitution; considers issues significant for the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina and launch initiatives to amend the BiH Constitution; examines and provides the House with opinions on proposed amendments to the BiH Constitution; conducts public hearings on proposed amendments to the BiH Constitution or to draft laws as well as informs the House on the results of the public hearings; considers draft laws to be adopted by the House in terms of their harmonisation with the BiH Constitution and the legal system, as well as in terms of legal processing and presents a report to the House that includes opinions and proposals as well as legal and technical corrections of errors evident in the text; considers the issues of legislative methodology and other issues of importance for the harmonisation of legal and technical processing of acts to be adopted by the House; submits opinions to the BiH Constitutional Court; participates in preparing the work program for legislative activities of the House; finalizes, together with the appropriate Committee of the House of Peoples, the clarified text of draft laws and other regulations, when and if so authorized by both Houses; considers proposals to suppress immunity rights and in this respect proposes suitable decisions to the House.

The Committee considers issues regarding the legal system; the electoral system; BiH Council of Ministers; national holidays; coat-of-arms, flag and the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the seals of Bosnia and Herzegovina; state administration; enforcement of international and domestic criminal laws and other issues under the House’s competence that are not covered by the scope of activities of other committees.

Committee on Foreign Affairs monitors the conduct of foreign policy by the BiH Presidency and the BiH Council of Ministers; considers BiH’s co-operation with the United Nations and the international community; considers inter-parliamentary co-operation with the respective parliamentary committees of other countries; considers co-operation with the Council of Europe, Inter-parliamentary Union, Central European Initiative, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other international organisations; considers issues related to the work of the institutions of BiH competent in foreign affairs and international relations; considers activities of permanent or temporary delegations of the BiH PA in inter-parliamentary institutions; considers granting and revoking consent to the ratification of international treaties.

The Committee also considers other issues in the field of international and foreign affairs.

Committee on Foreign Trade and Customs considers issues pertaining to: foreign trade policy; agreements on international trade; customs policy; tariffs, regulations and draft laws from its field; international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as relations with international trade institutions.

The Committee also considers other issues related to foreign trade and customs.

Committee on Finance and Budget of the House of Representatives considers issues pertaining to: the BiH Central Bank; external debt, financing of BiH Institutions; fiscal and credit policy; banking, with the exception of banking policy; functioning of financial institutions at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina; regulations in the field of finance and budget, consideration, execution and control of execution of the budget; consideration of decisions on debt accumulation, debt reprogramming and other liabilities of Bosnia and Herzegovina; reports of the Audit Office of the Institutions of BiH, as well as its competences stipulated by the Law on Auditing of BiH institutions, monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the audit reports of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, in cooperation with the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs, undertakes all appropriate measures to eliminate the imperfections found in the audit report, and pursues inter-parliamentary cooperation with counterpart committees in parliaments of other countries.

The Committee also discusses other issues concerning finances and the budget.

Committee on Transport and Communications considers issues pertaining to: travel documents; residence and movement of foreigners; relations with Interpol; establishment and functioning of common and international communications; regulation of inter-entity transport; civil aviation and information - communication technologies.

The Committee also considers other issues in the field of transport and communications.

Committee on Gender Equality considers issues pertaining to: matters in reference to exercising gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina – in particular concerning promotion of the status of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina; encouraging activities in the BiH Institutions with regards to the implementation of the action platform of the Beijing Declaration (The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995) in 12 critical spheres; encouraging and co-ordinating activities with the Entity Parliaments to promote the status of women and implement the action platform of the Beijing Declaration; considering draft laws and other regulations from a perspective of gender equality and preventing discrimination against women; considering proposed documents and reports of the BiH Institutions dealing with gender equality and implementation of the action plan of the Beijing Declaration in general or in individual areas; considering and preparing the participation of the delegations of Bosnia and Herzegovina at international meetings when deliberating on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration (UN, Regional Cooperation Council, etc.)

The Committee considers other issues concerning the implementation of gender equality.

Committee for the Preparation of the Election of the BiH Council of Ministers considers the information that, in accordance with the Law on the BiH Council of Ministers, the candidates nominated to the positions of Chair and member of the BiH Council of Ministers are required to submit, and, if necessary, asks the questions to the nominated candidates regarding available information and regarding their suitability to carry out the roles they are nominated to. Based on provided information and, when necessary, after the interviews with the candidates, the Committee decides whether to give a recommendation to the House in favour of confirming the nominated candidate.

The member of the Committee for the Preparation of the Election of the BiH Council of Ministers may request that the person nominated as the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Minister or Deputy Minister attends the meeting of the Committee and answers the certain questions.

If the nominated person does not give a response to the invitation to attend the meeting of the Committee for the Preparation of the Election of the BiH Council of Ministers, the Committee may delay the discussion on that issue and inform the proposer- the BiH Presidency, or the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, and ask them to ensure the attendance of the nominated person on the next meeting. If the nominated person does not response to the invitation nor attend even the next meeting, he will not be able to receive the recommendation in favour of confirming.

Joint Committee on Defence and Security of BiH considers and monitors the implementation of the security and defence policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina; monitors the parliamentary oversight aimed to improve the efficiency, transparency and functionality. The implementation of the parliamentary oversight is based on the principles of constitutionality, legality, democracy, and respect for human rights and freedoms. Joint Committee implements the parliamentary oversight on the institutions of Defence: BiH Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of BiH, as well as on the institutions of security: BiH Ministry of Security, Border Police of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency – SIPA; Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for forensic examination and expertise, the Agency for Education and Professional Training, and the Police Support Agency; the Joint Committee as well implements the parliamentary oversight on the other institutions and bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina within its competencies regarding the issues of defence and security: BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, in the area relating to the import, export and transit of weapons, the military equipment and dual-use products, as well as on the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, in the area related to demining, as well as on the bodies of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, in the framework within their work is subjected to the parliamentary oversight: on the Independent Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the Committee on public complaints to the work of police officers in the police bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the Office of the Parliamentary Military Commissioner of BiH; the Joint Committee implements the parliamentary oversight on the other institutions of BiH if the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina makes a specific decision. Besides that, the Joint Committee considers the laws and amendments from the areas within its competencies; monitors the legitimacy and work compliance of oversight institutions with the defence and security policy of BiH; considers the reports, short-term and long-term plans pertinent to the structure of the Armed Forces of BiH, personnel policy and recruiting, salaries and allowances, education and training of the BiH Armed Forces, professional conduct and ethical standards of civilian and military staff, Army equipment, military industrial work, procurement and export/import of weapons and military equipment, material assistance and contracts with foreign companies rendering services to the defence institutions on a commercial basis, combat readiness, military exercises and operations including enforcement of international obligations and international peace support operations; monitors and considers the state of human rights and freedoms in the sector of defence and security; monitors the respect for political, ideological and interest neutrality in the work of oversight institutions; monitors and considers the usage of tools and methods in conducting special investigative activities in the oversight institutions; considers reports on the budget execution as well as reports on the revision of the oversight institutions; considers and adapts reports on the work of the oversight institutions; launches the initiatives and submits the law proposals in the domain of the competencies of the oversight institutions; considers the complaints of the employees in the oversight institutions, except the issues from the area of Labor-Law Relations; considers the proposals and petitions sent to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the Joint Committee regarding the work of the oversight institutions, proposes to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH the measures for addressing the issues contained in the proposals and the petitions, and informs the requester on that matter; determines the facts and takes the statements from nominated or appointed officials, advisors, public servants, employees, police officers, military or civil personnel serving in the BiH Armed Forces in the cases of the observed illegality or irregularities in the work of oversight institutions; considers the issues of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU, UN, NATO, OSCE, RCC authorities and other international organizations in the domain of defence and security; considers the activities of permanent and temporary BiH delegations in the international and inter-parliamentary institutions in the domain of defence and security; cooperates with the competent parliamentary committees of bh.entities, other countries, as well as with international organizations and other bodies in the domain of defence and security; the Joint Committee may oversight on every activity of BiH Armed Forces, including the military exercises, assisting the civilian authorities in crisis situations, the military demining activities, and may attend these activities. Joint Committee may announce the attendance at the oversight activities to the BiH Ministry of Defence and to the Chief of the Armed Forces Joint Staff.

Joint Committee also considers other issues in the domain of defence and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Joint Committee on Supervision of the work of Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH supervises the lawfulness of the Agency’s work; discusses and provides opinions on the appointment of the Director General and Deputy Director General; considers reports of the Chair on issues under her/his competence, including measures taken in order to resolve all problems in the Agency, identified during an inspection control, audit or investigation; considers reports of the Director General on the activities and costs of the Agency and especially analyzes how budget funds are spent; provides opinions on the Agency’s detailed budget proposal; considers reports by the Chief Inspector; requests Agency employees to provide expert advise, with the assistance of the Chair, as required for carrying out supervision; conducts investigations on the work of the Agency.

The Committee also considers other issues under its competencies in line with the Law on Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH, as well as with any other lex specialis enshrining relevant competencies.

Joint Committee on Economic Reforms and Development considers the following issues: economic reforms within the competencies of BiH institutions; proposed reforms or initiatives to amend the laws submitted to the Committee by: representatives of civil society, entrepreneurs’ associations, employers’ unions, trade unions, agencies for regional development, associations of citizens or other non-governmental interest groups; monetary policy; foreign debt policy; relations with international financial institutions; policy and programme of reconstruction and development in BiH; defining economic policy measures; fiscal and credit policy of BiH; banking policy; statistics, measurements and standards. .

The Committee also considers other issues in the domain of economic reforms, reconstruction and development.

Joint Committee on European Integration considers issues in light of: general issues related to EU integration, monitoring the implementation of BiH’s rights and obligations arising from international treaties in view of CoE membership; coordinating the work of working bodies related to EU integration and submitting opinions, recommendations and warnings to these bodies; analyzing the impact of integration strategy for BiH and drafting comprehensive reports; considering the plans, programs, reports and information on EU Stabilisation and Association Process; monitoring the accession strategy fulfilment, launching the initiative to speed up the accession strategy fulfilment within the competencies of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina; supervising the harmonization of BiH legislation with the aquis communitaire (applicable EU legislation) when the Committee meets all the requirements; cooperation with institutions of BiH (particularly with the BiH Directorate for EU Integration), institutions of the EU and other countries related to integration issues; organizing public opinion debates on integration issues; collecting, archiving and systematic presentation of information to Committee members regarding the EU; supervising the use of funds allocated by the EU; performing other tasks related to European issues that do not fall under the jurisdiction of other working bodies; holding the public hearings related to EU integration issues in order to collect the views of representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations, intellectuals, as well as governmental and non-governmental experts in specific areas, and also considers other issues related to EU integration.

Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs adopts general and specific acts regulating the status issues and material status of representatives and delegates, in accordance with the law; considers and proposes the budget in part of the funds allocated for the work of the Parliamentary Assembly; considers the budget execution in the part of funds allocated for the work of the Parliamentary Assembly and adopts acts for their realization; makes decision on the allocation of funds for financing political parties or coalition of political parties and independent candidates represented in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, i.e. caucuses and peoples in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH; based upon the opinion of the Collegiums of both Houses, gives consent to the Rulebook on Internal Organization and systematization of posts in the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly and Rulebook on the Collegium of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH; gives consent on acts that, in accordance with the Decision on the organization of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly, are adopted by the Collegium of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly for which this body is authorized by law; adopts acts related to the recording of property and other necessary acts important for the Parliamentary Assembly’s property management; monitors the implementation of recommendations from the Audit Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with Committees on Finance and Budget of the Houses of the Parliamentary assembly, undertakes necessary measures to eliminate the deficiencies reported in the Audit Report; based upon proposal of the Collegium of the Secretariat, decides on allocation of working premises in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH; in accordance with the law and regulations, determines fees and other material rights of members of special and independent bodies of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina; among Committee members of the House, appoints three members in the Commission for selection and appointment of members of the Central Election Commission; takes legal action in the accordance with the provisions of the Code.

The Commission performs other tasks within the competence of the Parliamentary Assembly when requested by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

Joint Committee on Human Rights considers the following issues pertaining to the: enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution and legislation of BiH, exercised by state bodies, public institutions and organizations with public responsibilities, in cases presented by the Ombudsman, citizens and Entities and informs the Houses thereof; citizenship; immigration, refugees and asylum; implementation of Annex 6 and Annex 7 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina; exercise and protection of human rights and freedoms, as well as measures for their effective protection. The Commission will not consider issues that are pending resolution of the court and other disputes, except in the case of unacceptable delays in the procedure or evident abuse of power and willfulness reported by BiH Ombudsman institution.

The Commission also considers issues relating to the protection of personal data and cooperation with the Agency for Personal Data Protection in BiH, the rights of national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposals submitted by citizens along with the responsibility to inform the petitioners of the outcome; petitions related to violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as adopting relevant measures and informing the petitioners and Houses thereof; co-operation with the Commission for Human Rights (envisaged in Annex 6) and the Commission for Refugees and Displaced Persons (foreseen by Annex 7 of General Framework Agreement for Peace), and the Committees on Human Rights in the Federation of BiH Parliament and the National Assembly of Republika Srpska; issues pertaining to the exercise of rights of the child – in particular, improving the status of children in BiH; encouraging activities in BiH institutions to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as encouraging the establishment of cooperation with committees of the entity parliaments to improve the status of the child and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; consideration of proposed laws and other regulations with regard to children's rights and the prevention of discrimination against the child; issues related to the rights of youth - especially improvement of the rights of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina; encouraging activities in BiH institutions related to adoption and implementation of the most important international documents pertaining to youth issues; considering proposed documents and reports of BiH institutions pertaining to rights of children and youth issues, the consideration of preparations for participation of BiH delegations at international meetings discussing issues related to the rights of children and youth; analyzing reports on the implementation of the Law on Conflict of Interest in the institutions of BiH; warning of elected officials in the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Ministers on the provisions of the Law on Conflict of Interest in the Institutions of BiH for its consistent implementation; together with the Commission for Conflict of interest considers possible cases of violation of the conflict of interest of elected officials in the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Ministers; preparing and drafting proposals of Code of Conduct for representatives and delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The Commission also considers other issues in the field of human rights, the exercise of rights of the child, youth, immigration, refugees, asylum and ethics.

Temporary committees of the House – Upon the proposal of a representative or caucus, the House may adopt a conclusion establishing temporary committees of the House for considering the enforcement or preparation of a certain act or issue; or investigative committees.

The proponent shall be obliged to recommend objectives and tasks. The tasks and the composition of the committee shall be determined by a conclusion of the House.

The Secretariat provides professional, administrative-technical, financial and information related consultancy and other services to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Secretariat attends in particular to the following services: the preparation, convention and monitoring of sessions of the Houses and committees; the review of draft legislation submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly and its harmonisation with the Constitution and the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina; giving professional opinions on materials and documents required by the Parliamentary Assembly; the monitoring of implementation of and initiation of the process of making amendments to the Rules of Procedures of the Houses; the preparation of the programme of activities of both Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly and plans of operations of the committees and monitoring of their implementation; preparing, drafting, translating and proofreading of texts of the draft laws and the proposals of acts, reports and minutes as well as other materials written in official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, if necessary, into foreign languages; the preparation of adopted legislation for its publication in the "Official Gazette of BiH"; provision of professional and protocol-related services required by parliamentary delegations or required for reception of foreign delegations; monitoring and implementation of activities delegated to the Secretariat in line with the provisions stipulated in the acts of the Houses and committees; public relations and informing the public on the work of the Parliamentary Assembly and publication of complete minutes of debates in both Houses; cooperation with institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as cooperation with entity and other bodies; and the provision of other professional-technical, administrative and other general services to the Parliamentary Assembly.

Activities and tasks of the Secretariat are performed within the following services:

• Expert Service of the House of Representatives;
• Expert Service of the House of Peoples;
• Common Service.

The following organisational units are established within services:

• Cabinets;
• Offices;
• Sections

The following organisational units are established within the Expert Service of the House of Peoples:

• Cabinet of the Secretary of the House of Peoples;
• Offices, as follows:
  • Office of the Secretary of the Constitutional and Legal Committee;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Foreign and Trade Policy, Customs, Transport and Communications;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Finance and Budget.
• Department for Drafting and Publication of Legal Acts.

The following organisational units are established within the Expert Service of the House of Representatives:

• Cabinet of the Secretary of the House of Representatives;
• Offices, as follows:
  • Office of the Secretary of the Constitutional and Legal Committee;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Trade and Customs;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Finance and Budget;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Transport and Communications;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Committee on Gender Equality.

Within the Common Service, the following is established:

• Cabinet of the Secretary of the Common Service;
• Offices, as follows:
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Defence and Security Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee on Supervision of the work of Intelligence and Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Committee on Economic Reforms and Development;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Committee on European Integration;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Committee on Administrative Affairs;
  • Office of the Secretary of the Joint Committee on Human Rights;
• Sections, as follows:
  • Legislative and Legal Section;
  • Common Affairs Section;
  • Information and Documentation Section;
  • Research Section;
  • International Relations and Protocol Section;
  • Information Technology Section;
  • Public Relations Section.
  • Finance Section
  • Section for other Parliamentary Bodies
  • Section on EU integrations

Before the commencement of the proceedings, in the second committee phase, the committee may decide to open a public hearing on the draft law which would involve all the interested parties, specialist institutions and individuals.

Public hearings are held within the term of 30 days.

Commission announces a public hearing on the website of the Parliamentary Assembly.

Invited individuals and representatives of bodies and institutions shall present their opinions on issues related to the draft law. After the discussion, based upon the conclusion of the committee, they can attach the required expert works and other materials submitted during the hearing of the public hearing.

Attached with report to be submit, the Committee also ataches a transcript of the hearing, if any, as well as works and materials submitted during the public hearing.

The international activities of the BiH PA contribute significantly to the implementation of BiH foreign policy priorities, above all to the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into Euro Atlantic institutions at the multilateral level, but also to the establishment of strong and friendly relations on a bilateral level.

BiH PA activities are also implemented through meetings at the levels of the Speakers, delegations, committees, and through participation at numerous conferences, roundtable discussions, seminars, colloquiums and workshops.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH Parliamentary Assembly) in conducting international activities appoints:

• Permanent delegations in international organizations of which the BiH PA is a member or an associate member;
• Friendship groups (for cooperation with other parliaments);
• Mixed working bodies for the purpose of cooperation with other parliaments, inter-parliamentary organizations and institutions.

Through its permanent delegations, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH is a member of:

• Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE);
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA);
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Central European Initiative (CEI PA);
• Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO PA)
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
• Parliamentary Assembly of Mediterranean (PAM)
• Parliamentary Assembly of the South – East European Cooperation Process (PASEECP)
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for Mediterranean (PAUfM)
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophone

After the entry into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union, PA BiH has appointed its delegation, which together with the delegation of the European Parliament, makes the Parliamentary Committee on Stabilization and Association (PCSA), as an instrument for the implementation of the parliamentary dimension SAA and for the cooperation between the two parliaments.

A special form of multilateral cooperation are the conferences of the Presidents of Parliaments, which take place within the framework and under the auspices of international organizations (the Conference of the Presidents of Parliaments of Inter-Parliamentary Union, Conference of the Presidents of Parliaments of the Adriatic - Ionian Initiative, the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of Cooperation Process in Southeastern Europe) or on the initiative and invitation of the presidents of parliaments of some country (the Conference of the Presidents of Parliaments of the Western Balkans countries, on the invitation of the President of the National Assembly of Hungary).

Additionally, it is established a number of friendship groups of the Parliamentary Assembly. Thus, within the Parliamentary Assembly there are:

• Group for Neighboring Countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Italia, Malta, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Macedonia, Albania, Hungary and Austria);
• Group for Western Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, France, Great Britain, Ireland and Portugal)
• Group for East and Middle Europe (Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan)
• Group for Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Bangladesh, Philippines, Korea, DPR Korea, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Nepal, Viet Nam, Pakistan and Malaysia)
• Group for Africa and Middle East Countries (Egypt, South Africa, Libya and the other countries of Africa, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Yemen)
• Group for North and South America, Australia, Oceania and Japan (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Oceania, Countries of South America, Cuba, USA, Canada and Mexico)

International cooperation is also expanded through permanent contacts maintained by the staff of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and in their professional development. Here, civil servants who work in the BiH PA administration are trained and their skills developed through participation at international specialist conferences, in order for them to provide the highest quality of support to the work of the BiH PA.    

The Council of National Minorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a special advisory body of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina which provides opinions, advice and proposals to the Parliamentary Assembly on all matters concerning the rights, status and interests of national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, the Council may delegate experts to work in the constitutional-legal committees and the Joint Committee on Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, when they discuss the rights, status and interests of national minorities. 

This advisory body is composed of one representative of each legally recognized national minorities, such as: Albanians, Montenegrins, Czechs, Italians, Jews, Hungarians, Macedonians, Germans, Poles, Roma, Romanians, Russians, Ruthenians, Slovaks, Slovenians, Turks and Ukrainians.Parliamentary Assembly appoints the members of the Council by its decision, on the proposal of the Joint Committee on Human Rights which is obliged to consult the national minorities, national minority associations or other NGOs in the process of the selection of candidates.

The Council of National Minorities is constituted by selecting the chairman and his two deputies from the appointed members of the Council. The mandate of the Council members is four years and follows the mandate of the elected members of Parliament. 

At the constituent meeting of the Council of National Minorities, Tihomir Knežiček, the representative of the Italian minority was elected as the Chairman of the Council. Andrija Svatok, the representative of the Ukrainian national minority was elected as the First Deputy Chairman and Nada Putica, the representative of the Montenegrin national minority was elected as the Second Deputy Chair of the Council.

The Council of National Minorities of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina  at its fifth session for the Second Deputy Chair elected Tijana Vučurević, representative of the Ruthenian national minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this position Tijana Vučurević replaced a representative of the Montenegrin national minority Nada Putica, which mandate has expired on 31st January 2014.

Besides them, the members of the Council are representatives of the following national minorities: Albanian - Halil Bicaj, Montenegrin - Dragan Marković, Czech - Jovanka Manzalović - Šalaka, Jewish - Jakob Finci, Hungarian - Eva Pašić - Juhas, Slovak - Vjeročka Gajić, Macedonian - Todorka Jovanović, German - Velibor Kuvač, Polish - Dejan Piotrovski, Turkish - Hakan Varan, Romanian - Silvija Vujović, Slovenian - Maria Grbić, Russian - Mladen Radmilović, Roma - Nedžad Jusić and Austrian - Davor Ebner.

In accordance with the Constitution of BiH and the Law on Independent and Regulatory Bodies for the Police Force of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH appoints the members of the Independent Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, as independant body of the Parliamentarey Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which acts professionally and without affiliation to any political party, registered organization, association, or people in BiH.

The Independent Board is responsible for the following: conducting candidate selection processes; proposing the removal of police officials and deputies in BiH police bodies; announcing vacancies; reviewing applications, selecting candidates, and submitting these to the Minister of Security of BiH.

The maximum number of candidates for submission to the Minister are five for senior official positions, and five for deputy senior official positions in BiH police bodies; considering complaints about senior officials and deputies in BiH police bodies; informing the Minister of Security of BiH and the Council of Ministers of BiH about complaints received; initiating disciplinary action against senior officials and deputies in BiH police bodies for offences committed.

The Independent Board consists of nine members who are elected from amongst the judiciary and its institutions, retired and active civil servants, as well as prominent experts from other areas of public life, such as law, criminal science and police affairs. The Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and members of the Independent Board are elected for a term of office of four years and can be relieved of office by the BiH PA.

In accordance with the Constitution of BiH and the Law on Independent and Regulatory Bodies for the Police Force of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, appointed the members of the Citizens’ Police Complaints Board of the BiH PA. The Citizens’ Police Complaints Board is an independent body of the BiH PA, which acts impartially and without affiliation to any political party, registered organization, association, or people in BiH. The Board consists of seven members, among which all constituent peoples must be represented, by prominent and esteemed citizens, who are not employees of BiH police bodies.

The Citizens’ Police Complaints Board is responsible for the following: receiving, registering, assessing and forwarding complaints relating to the conduct of BiH police officials’; sending the complaints to the applicable police bodies; monitoring the progress of the complaint; initiating proceedings against complainants in cases of false or biased complaints; keeping records and databases of citizens’ complaints against police officials; collating investigation results and other evidence for the instigation of disciplinary or criminal proceedings; providing all necessary information to the complainant with regards to their complaint. The Chairperson, Deputy Chairpersons, and members of the Citizens’ Police Complaints Board are appointed for a term of four years, and can be relieved of office by the BiH PA.

The Committee for election and monitoring of the work of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption is an independent body of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH with competencies defined by the Law on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and the Rules of Procedure of the Committee. In accordance with Article 18 of the Law, the Committee monitors the work of the Agency; initiates the procedure of appointing the Director and Deputy Director of the Agency in accordance with the law; initiates dismissal procedure of the Director and the Deputy Director of the Agency in accordance with Article 15 of the Law; reviews reports on the work of the Agency at least twice a year or as needed, and reviews financial audit reports of the Agency.

The Committee consists of nine members: three from the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, three from the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two from the academic community and one from the non-governmental sector. The Committee for election and monitoring of the work of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption is appointed and dismissed by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. The mandate of three members from the House of Representatives and three members from the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly appointed to the Committee lasts as long as the mandate of the convocation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mandate of the two representatives of the academic community and one representative of non-governmental sector is four years from the date of appointment in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

GOPAC PABiH is a non-partisan parliamentary group, operating on the principle of voluntariness, democracy, transparency and non-discrimination on any grounds. GOPAC PABiH brings together parliamentarians and other stakeholders to combat corruption, improve transparency and accountability within the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Chapter of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC) in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) has its Executive Committee which is composed by the Chair, First and Second deputy Chair, from the ranks of the three constituent peoples in BiH. According the Charter, Chair and the First Deputy Chair cannot be members of the same House of the PABiH. Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected annually among the MPs and deputies in the PABiH.

The Chapter of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC) in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) has constituted on 9 December 2016 with the signing of the Charter of GOPAC PABiH by the members of Parliament of the both Houses of PABiH.

Professional and administrative - technical tasks for the GOPAC PABiH shall be performed by the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is an international network of parliamentarians dedicated to good governance and combating corruption throughout the world. Since its inception (2002 year), GOPAC has provided information and analysis, established international benchmarks, and improved public awareness through a combination of global pressure and national actions.

The Headquarters of GOPAC is in Ottawa, Canada, and the organization consists of more than 50 national branches through five continental associations.

GOPAC indiscriminately supports its members by creating and publishing original research and working also on the strengthening global capacity for the combat against corruption.

GOPAC seeks to achieve ethical and responsible governance worldwide through effective anti-corruption mechanisms and cooperation between parliamentarians, appointed officials and civil society organizations.