The appointment of MP Nikolina Šljivić as Acting Deputy Director of the Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs of RS (RUGIP) has raised a series of serious questions about legality, incompatibility of functions, and potential conflict of interest. Due to suspected violations of the RS Civil Service Law and BiH Election Law, Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) has reported the case to the relevant institutions.
Based on the Capital portal’s reporting on the controversial appointment, TI BiH submitted a complaint to the Inspectorate Administration, specifically to the Administrative Inspection of the Ministry of Administration and Local Self-Government of RS, to verify the legality of appointing Nikolina Šljivić, an MP in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, to the position of Acting Deputy Director of RUGIP.
According to the RS Civil Service Law, the position of Deputy Director of the Republic Administration has civil servant status, and the same law prohibits simultaneously holding an MP mandate and working as a civil servant, as well as performing any other duty that leads to a conflict of interest.
Additionally, the law prohibits persons engaged in independent business activities from being appointed as civil servants, and it is particularly concerning that Šljivić is being appointed to a leadership position, which carries a higher degree of responsibility and ethical principles.
A person engaged in independent business activity has a conflict of interest and cannot establish employment in the status of a civil servant in the republican administration body.
Since Nikolina Šljivić is the owner and founder of the Hair and Beauty Salon “Glamour Beauty House” Nikolina Šljivić s.p Istočno Novo Sarajevo, her appointment is controversial on at least two grounds and can be viewed as holding incompatible positions, or a conflict of interest.
TI BiH has simultaneously addressed the Central Election Commission of BiH to determine whether this appointment also violates the BiH Election Law, which states in Article 1.8
- (1) Judges of regular and constitutional courts, prosecutors and their deputies, attorneys and their deputies, ombudsmen and their deputies, notaries, police officers, civil servants, general auditors (…) may run for public elected office only if they previously resign from their position or act in accordance with the laws regulating their status.
A particular detail in this case is that Nikolina Šljivić recently left the Democratic People’s Alliance to act as an independent MP within the ruling bloc in the RS National Assembly, which raises additional questions about political appointments and trading of positions, as well as the independence of legislative power in this entity.
We remind that this practice once again points to a systemic problem in the application of regulations on incompatibility of functions in Republika Srpska, where laws are selectively interpreted and applied depending on the political context, which further erodes citizens’ trust in institutions and undermines the very legal mechanisms for preventing conflicts of interest.
