VII. RELATIONS WITH THE RESPONDENT PARTIES

Cooperation with the respondent Parties--the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina-- is conducted mainly through appointed agents who represent the Parties in proceedings before the Human Rights Chamber. The agents are given notice by the Chamber of applications against the Party they represent and are invited to submit their observations in writing on the admissibility and merits of the applications. Agents are also invited to appear at public hearings and to present oral argument. If the Chamber finds a violation of human rights in a decision on the merits, it may order the respondent Party to take remedial measures and/or pay compensation. The agents are responsible for informing the respondent Parties of their obligation to implement fully the decisions of the Chamber and for reporting to the Chamber on the steps taken by the Parties to implement the decisions.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herezgovina

The agent of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has succeeded in establishing efficient procedures for carrying out its responsibilities towards the Chamber. Good communication exists between the Chamber and the Federation agent, which facilitates the work of the Chamber. The Federation agent responds regularly and within the prescribed time limits to requests for observations and information, attends public hearings and reports to the Chamber on the implementation of decisions within the given time-limit. The compliance record of the Federation has improved since 1999, and in many cases an individual is reinstated or compensation is paid, for example, before the expiry of the time limit set by the Chamber in a particular case.

The Republika Srpska

Cooperation with the agent of the Republika Srpska is satisfactory on the whole, but there is still need to improve on the response rate to requests for written observations or information from the Chamber. Compliance by the Republika Srpska with the Chamber's decisions still lags far behind the Federation. The efforts made to comply are random and almost always out of time. Towards the end of the year, the Republika Srpska paid compensation in about 35 cases, although not always the complete amount awarded by the Chamber. There are still a number of orders for reinstatement of individuals into their pre-war homes outstanding. Furthermore, several decisions in which the Chamber ordered remedies requiring a greater intensity of effort to comply (e.g. an investigation into the fate of individuals, the issuing of permits for the reconstruction of mosques), have not been implemented sometimes several years after the orders were issued.

The State of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Three agents were appointed by the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina to represent it in proceedings before the Chamber. However, written communication is received almost exclusively from only one of the agents. The same agent almost always appears alone to represent the State at the Chamber's public hearings. This practice was challenged by one of the other State agents who claimed that the agent who had appeared and spoken on behalf of the State at a public hearing did not have the authority alone to represent the State. The Chamber's position is that it is for each respondent Party to ensure that it is adequately and effectively represented. The Chamber notified the Office of the High Representative for resolution of this issue.