President of the Republic of Srpska attends the opening ceremony of the 16th conference “October Legal Days”

The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović attended the opening ceremony of the 16th conference “October Legal Days” in Banja Luka.

“The fact that the “October Legal Days” are being held for the 16th time clearly testifies to the importance and quality of this event, and that it has grown into a now-traditional meeting of the most prominent legal experts in the region as an opportunity to exchange opinions, experience and knowledge in the field of legal sciences”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.

“The number of prominent legal experts attending this year’s gathering, as well as the fact that during the sessions it is foreseen to discuss six different legal areas within the general theme “Building and functioning of the legal system”, indicate that this year’s gathering will also be marked by a dynamic expert discussion, and that there will be opportunities to exchange experiences, but also to acquire new knowledge”, said the President Cvijanović at the opening of the “October Legal Days” conference.

The President of the Republic stressed that the importance of the “October Legal Days” is reflected in the direct affirmation of the legal science itself and expressed her belief that the countries of the region in this context do not lag behind the nominally more developed world, to which, in terms of orderliness and standard of living as a whole, we all aspire.

Speaking from the perspective of the President of the Republic of Srpska, as one whose constitutional function is precisely to secure and manifest the political, legal, and institutional unity of Srpska, as a single and indivisible legal entity, the President Cvijanović emphasized that the Republic of Srpska is a community based on law with all the necessary constitutional prerogatives constituting the elements of its legal identity.

“In the heart of this legal identity of the Republic of Srpska lies its constitutional act, adopted on February 28, 1992, but also the Constitution of BiH as Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement. On the basis of the constitutional act from 1992 which underwent certain changes during the time, the legal, political and institutional functioning of the Republic of Srpska was ensured throughout the years, which were not easy at all”, said the President Cvijanović.

Recalling that the Republic of Srpska has undergone many challenges, that it has been exposed to various pressures and attacks, the President of the Republic stated that it was its legal foundation and construction that constituted the most powerful means of its defense, defense of its institutions, competencies and subjectivity.

“It would be naive to believe that the challenges in the Republic of Srpska are over, and therefore the need to strengthen the legal instruments at its disposal, as well as legal knowledge in general, is even more emphasized.

In her address at the 16th conference “October Legal Days”, the President of the Republic stated that we should not be falsely modest and ignore the fact that Srpska is today the only fully functional and self-sustaining entity in BiH.

Those who try to challenge the Republic of Srpska and key elements of its identity, said the President Cvijanović, should bear in mind that Srpska is more than capable and able of defending itself by all available legal and political means.

“We are building the Republic of Srpska as a modern law-based community, as a democratic society in which rights and freedoms, individual or collective, will be fully protected. For all new legal and political communities, and the Republic of Srpska that is, it is of utmost importance to build a coherent legal system, but also an efficient, hierarchically organised legal order in which the defined rights and obligations will be the exclusive framework of conduct and actions of institutions as well as legal and individual entities”, it was emphasized by the President of the Republic of Srpska adding that building a coherent legal system and efficient legal order is not an easy task, given the not-so-ancient historical turbulence in this region and the collapse of the socio-political system, on the one hand, and the rather intense, but not always the most precisely defined, integration processes affecting everyone in the region on the other hand.

The President of the Republic assessed that the role of the legal profession in this endeavor would therefore be crucial.

The President Cvijanović noted that as the President of the Republic she welcomed any initiative, event and manifestation aimed at affirming legal science, trainings of young lawyers and, generally, developing scientific knowledge in legal science.

“On this behalf, I would like to thank the Association of Lawyers, the faculties of law at the Universities of Banja Luka and East Sarajevo, the Bar and Notary Chamber, the Centre for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Republic of Srpska, and all others who directly and indirectly participated in the organisation of this significant event”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska, wishing all participants a constructive dialogue and a successful work.

The 16th October Legal Days conference was also attended by the Secretary General of the Republic of Srpska President Đuka Huremović.