The CBBH received the Decision on the rejection of the request for the issuing of urban permit

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after receiving the Decision on the rejection of the request for the issuing of urban permit, will be forced to use all the available legal mechanisms to protect its interests

On 06 October 2021, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) received a Decision on the rejection of the request for the issuing of urban permit for the construction of a business building in Kranjčevićeva Street in Sarajevo. Although the request was submitted directly by the CBBH according to applicable regulations, the response was submitted to the lawyer that was not included in the very process of the request submission, this being another evidence of the ignoring relation of Municipality Centar towards this institution. Except for adopting the mentioned Decision, Municipality Centar has never replied to the request of the CBBH related to the offering of adequate alternative lot for construction, although such position of the Municipality has been stressed publicly several times.

We wish to remind once again that the CBBH purchased the mentioned lot in December 2019, according to the applicable regulations, and the documents of Municipality Centar which are still in effect – Regulatory Plan of the Municipality and the Decision of the Municipal Council. We are a responsible and legal owner of the lot, and the purchase agreement clearly defines that the lot has been purchased with the only goal to construct a business building for the needs of the Main Unit Sarajevo on the basis of the applicable Regulatory Plan. The CBBH has carried out all the activities by now according to the applicable regulations, so, on 10 March 2021, it submitted to the Municipality Centar a conceptual design for the future building , thus making its request for the issuing of an urban permit complete. The legal period in which the Municipality was obliged to make a decision on the request for the issuing of urban permit expired on 25 March 2021.

On 30 March 2021, the CBBH sent the first urgency letter to Municipality Centar, then on 13 April 2021, the second urgency letter, and on 26 April 2021, it sent the third urgency letter. In its correspondence, the CBBH also suggested a meeting, which the Municipality never replied to.

Due to the absence of a response from administration, on 07 September 2021, the CBBH sent un urgency letter related to the earlier sent complaint to the Ministry of Municipal Economy, Infrastructure, Urban Planning, Construction and Environment of Sarajevo Canton. The Ministry adopted the complaint of the CBBH on 14 September 2021 and ordered the Municipality to make a decision on the CBBH request for the issuing of urban permit. So, after more than six months after the expiry of the legal deadline for solving the request of the CBBH, the Municipality, only on the basis of the conclusion of the second instance institution, made a Decision on the rejection of the request on 29 September 2021.

On the basis of the above, it is obvious that the Municipality breached all legal deadlines to issue a decision, and it issued a decision on the rejection of the request after the Ministry issued an order to make a decision, or more precisely, after purposely delaying the process for six months. The explanation of the decision is based on the opinion of the Commission for preserving national monuments and the statements from the report of the ad hoc Working Body of Municipality Centar, which the CBBH completely denied, although no argument of the CBBH was taken into account when making a decision.

Taking into account the obvious breaches of the regulations by the Municipality, gross neglecting of the applicable decisions and the existing contract, the CBBH has no other options but to fight in a legitimate way for its rights and interests which have been endangered by such ungrounded actions of the Municipality. It remains unclear how a parking lot, which is according to the applicable Regulatory Plan, planned for construction, can be treated as a national monument.

The CBBH will use all the available legal mechanisms to protect its legitimate interests as the institution has found itself in a situation of absolute legal uncertainty, and as a legal owner, it cannot use the real estate for the purpose which it purchased it for, although it fulfilled all its contractual obligations properly and in time.