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In the exercise of the powers vested in the High
Representative by Article V of Annex 10 (Agreement on Civilian Implementation of
the Peace Settlement) to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, according to which the High Representative is the final authority
in theatre regarding interpretation of the said Agreement on the Civilian
Implementation of the Peace Settlement; and considering in particular Article
II.1. (d) of the last said Agreement, according to the terms of which the High
Representative shall "Facilitate, as the High Representative judges necessary,
the resolution of any difficulties arising in connection with civilian
implementation";
Recalling paragraph XI.2 of the Conclusions of the Peace
Implementation Conference held in Bonn on 9 and 10 December 1997, in which the
Peace Implementation Council welcomed the High Representative's intention to use
his final authority in theatre regarding interpretation of the Agreement on the
Civilian implementation of the Peace Settlement in order to facilitate the
resolution of any difficulties as aforesaid "by making binding decisions, as he
judges necessary" on certain issues including (under sub-paragraph (c) thereof)
measures to ensure the Peace Agreement throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and its
Entities which "may include actions against persons holding public office or
officials...who are found by the High Representative to be in violation of legal
commitments made under the Peace Agreement or the terms for its
implementation";
Conscious of the need to prevent the funding of activities
which are, or which threaten to be, obstructive of the peace implementation
process as pursued under the aegis of the General Framework Agreement for Peace
in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Noting that the Election Law of Bosnia andHerzegovina
requires the Presidents of political parties to affirm that the activities of
the political party comply with the General Framework Agreement for Peace in
Bosnia and Herzegovina ;
Cognizant that the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the Law on Party Financing of Bosnia and Herzegovina introduced procedures to
increase transparency in the funding of political parties with a view to curb
ingrained corruption in
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
that undermines democratic
governance, wastes public resources and hinders the development of a market
economy;
Regretting that a number of persons indicted under Article 19
of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia
(hereinafter: the Statute) have been able, prior to the date hereof, to elude
just prosecution, and that such elusion of just prosecution cannot have occurred
without the assistance of other individuals and entities, whereby the
implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and
Herzegovina has been obstructed;
Keeping in mind the fact that several members of the Srpska
Demokratska Stranka (hereinafter: SDS) were removed by the High
Representative for their involvement in activities inimical to the stability of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rule of law, some of which, directly or
indirectly provide material support and sustenance to an individual indicted
under Article 19 of the aforesaid Statute, namely Mr. Radovan Karadzic;
Mindfulof the fact that the SDS was founded by an indicted war
criminal who remains at large, and therefore the SDS has a special
responsibility to break its links with the past, to cooperate fully with ICTY,
and to assist in the detention and transfer of that indictee to
The Hague .
Recallingthe terms of High Representative’s Decision no.
221/04 Blocking all Bank Accounts Held by and/or in the Name of the SDS and
Requiring the SDS to Establish One Bank Account (BiH. O.G. no. 36/04) of 30
June 2004 (hereinafter: Decision 221/04), whereby it was ordered,
inter alia, that each and every account held by/or in the name of the SDS
be blocked and that the SDS establish one bank account in a commercial bank duly
licensed in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Recalling further that, pursuant to Decision 221/04, any
financial transaction in excess of 150 KM by or on behalf of the SDS shall be
conducted through the single bank account established pursuant to the said
Decision;
Consideringthe findings of the Report of the Tax Administration
of the Ministry of Finance of Republika Srpska of 1 July 2005 (no.
01/0101/014-76/05) (hereinafter: RS Tax Administration Report) whereby it
is established that SDS Doboj has received several payments in excess of 150
KM;
Notingthat, pursuant to the RS Tax Administration Report,
seventeen (17) such payments were received and kept by SDS Doboj between
16 September 2004 and
22
September 2004 ;
Recallingthat processing, receiving or otherwise obtaining any
funds by means of a financial transaction in excess of 150 KM through any source
or means other than through the single account established pursuant to Decision
221/04 constitutes a violation of the said Decision;
Having considered, borne in mind and noted all the matters
aforesaid, the High Representative hereby issues the following:
DECISION
Ordering SDS Doboj to Submit Monthly Reports on All
Financial Transactions
Article 1
SDS Doboj is hereby ordered to submit a monthly financial report on all its
financial transactions in accordance with this Decision. The first such report
shall cover all financial transactions of September 2005.
Each report shall be submitted to the Ministry of Finance of the Republika
Srpska, the Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina,
and copied to the Office of the High Representative, no later than the fifth day
of each month for the previous month.
Article 2
The financial reports shall comprise the following information:
- General data on the SDS Doboj, including the title of
the political party’s organizational unit as registered with the competent
court, registered abbreviation, seat, address, telephone, fax, e-mail address,
identification number, name of the court where registered, total number of
employees;
- Name, surname and address of the person or persons
authorized to legally represent SDS Doboj, the position of the said person or
persons in the SDS;
- Name and surname of the person or persons, from SDS
Doboj, authorized to sign transfers from the single account to vendor
accounts, to receive and dispose of SDS funds from the SDS single account, and
to conduct any other financial transaction;
- All income of the SDS Doboj, including the specific
sources of said income;
- All expenditures of the SDS Doboj including, including but not limited to,
overhead and operating expenses, marketing expenses, and expenses for salaries
of its employees.
All financial reports shall include evidence of each financial transaction
relating to income and expenditures referred to in items 4 and 5 of Paragraph 1
of this Article.
Each report shall be accompanied by a bank statement for the reporting month,
which details all funds allocated to SDS Doboj and all the expenses paid
referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 3
The President of the SDS Doboj shall sign each financial report submitted in
accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of this Decision. The President of the
SDS Doboj shall be held accountable for the accuracy of data presented
therein.
Article 4
The provisions of Decision 221/04, inter alia, Articles 1, 3 and 7 thereof,
shall continue to apply.
Article 5
This Decision shall enter into force forthwith and shall be published without
delay in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and
Herzegovina
and
the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska.
Sarajevo, 22 September
2005
Paddy Ashdown
High Representative
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