TO: The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
His Excellence Zeljko Komsic, Chair of the Presidency
His Excellence Dr. Haris Silajdzic, member of Presidency
His Excellence Nebojsa Radmanovic, member of Presidency
Esteemed Excellences,
A year has gone by since the announcement of the Ruling of the International Court of Justice for genocide committed in Srebrenica, yet an official translation of the Ruling still does not exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the current regulations in BiH, in order for a document to become legally binding it has to pass the procedure and be published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only in that case are the various domestic institutions and courts able to call upon the translation of the Ruling in the course of their proceedings and decisions.
The Ruling of the International Court of Justice is a document of interest of the state and discussion about who has the authority of translation of same is inconsistent with the interests of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina has ratified the status of the International Court of Justice and that presents an obligation to have the Rulings of the Court translated and published in the Official Gazette as such Rulings have direct impact upon the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and are legally binding.
Therefore it is scandalous that the Ruling has not been translated into the official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just as the actual Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not been confirmed, in authentic Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian texts by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. Further, there does not exist an official translation of the Dayton Accords, signed in 1995. This clearly demonstrates that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not function as a state and that it does not care about the suffering her citizens have gone through.
As the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been given the authority to initiate translation of the Ruling of the International Court of Justice by way of the Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the International Court of Justice, Congress of North American Bosniaks, an umbrella organization which speaks on behalf of some 350,000 American and Canadian Bosniaks calls upon the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to promptly initiate an official translation of the Ruling of the International Court of Justice and have same published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Respectfully yours,
Emir Ramic
President of the CNAB