City of Mostar responds to EPBiH allegations over hydroelectric plant rights transfer

According to the City Administration, the official in charge of the initial proceedings, Sanja Hrvic Djuliman, took unnecessary steps that delayed the resolution of the request. This included the self-initiated inclusion of EPBiH in the process, despite the company's initial statements that it had no legal interest in the matter. Even with such statements on record, the Cadastre Service initially issued a decision rejecting the request from EP HZ HB to register the change in rights.

The legal chronology provided by the City reveals that this initial decision was overturned in 2022 by the Federation entity’s Administration for Geodetic and Property-Legal Affairs due to numerous failures. However, the repeated procedure again resulted in a rejected request, disregarding instructions from the second-instance authority. Following further appeals and a court ruling, the City’s Department Head eventually took over the case to ensure compliance with the Law on Administrative Procedure.

"The Head of the Department acted on behalf of the first-instance body of the City of Mostar. In accordance with the law, the first-instance body has the authority to review its own decision upon receiving an appeal. If the appeal is found to be grounded, a new decision can be made to rectify previous errors," the City Administration explained.

The statement also addressed the employment status of the official involved, noting that she had allegedly used various mechanisms, including medical and annual leave, to delay her mandatory retirement. This delay reportedly hindered the organization of the Cadastre Service and postponed the lawful resolution of the property rights registration.

The City Administration concluded that the final decision to transfer the rights was made legally to correct years of procedural shortcomings, emphasizing that the Head of the Department intervened only to align the records with valid regulations and judicial findings. The assets, valued at hundreds of millions of Bosnian marks (KM), remain a focal point of legal and administrative contention between the two power utilities.