BOSNIAN MINISTERIAL COUNCIL SIGNS RULE BOOK

SARAJEVO, Feb 20 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's Ministerial Council members on Thursday signed a rule book adopted on February 12. In this way, the rule book has come into force. A co-chairman of the Council of Ministers, Haris Silajdzic, portrayed this move as an encouraging step, but he warned that they were lagging behind in adopting several laws, proposed by Bildt's office, necessary for the functioning of the state of Bosnia- Herzegovina. Silajdzic added that at the Sarajevo session they had considered a privatization law and a property relations law. He added that difference in views on the issues were of the principled nature. Silajdzic maintained that this business was exclusively within the authority of the central state administration, whereas Bosnian Serb ministers held that entities were in charge of that. Silajdzic announced that legal opinion would have to be provided because of the differences. A vice chairman of the Council, Neven Tomic, said that the holding of new discussions on principles of privatisation procedures would check the entire process. In Tomic's opinion, the Constitution, under the Dayton accords, was patchy in this matter, as it did not state expressly whether regulation of property relations were within the authority of the state or of the entity. Tomic said that the Parliament of the (Croat-Moslem) Bosnian Federation was already discussing a package of privatisation laws and that in the Bosnian Serb entity about 30 percent of property would be privatised in trade and services during March. The Council of Ministers accepted an initiative of the Foreign Ministry to establish a state commission which will along with Roman Catholic Church dignitaries prepare the visit of Pope John Paul II to Sarajevo in April. (hina) jn mš 202014 MET feb 97