Disputable Decision of the City of Banja Luka Assembly is in interest of Eko-toplana?

According to the opinion of TI BiH, disputable provisions of this Decision unlawfully and contrary to the Constitution of RS prescribe requirements for exclusion from the heat transfer network thus questioning the legal certainty

Banja Luka, 14th March 2018 – Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) submitted to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Srpska an Initiative to start the procedure for evaluation of constitutionality and legality of the Decision adopted by the City of Banja Luka Assembly referring to the general conditions needed for the production, delivery and consumption of the heat power.

According to the opinion of TI BiH, disputable provisions of this Decision, unlawfully and contrary to the Constitution of RS, prescribe requirements for exclusion from the heat transfer network. Provisions of the Decision are not in compliance with the provisions of the Utility Services Act, RS Consumer Protection Act, Maintenance of the Residential Buildings Act and Law of Obligations. Thus, disputable Decision stipulates an obligation of obtaining consent from all flat owners in case the service user decides to get excluded from the central heating system. The right to compensation in case of damage caused by Eko-toplana (Eco-heating plant) Banja Luka during the process of heating power supply is also denied. Additionally, representatives of the Association for Consumer Protection are not involved in the work of the Consumer Complaints Commission.

The Initiative particularly emphasizes that, in addition to the aforementioned Acts and Constitution of the Republic of Srpska, the provisions of the disputable Decision also violate rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the principle of legal certainty.

Beside the fact that the City of Banja Luka Assembly adopted decisions which are in accordance with the interests of Eko-toplana, TI BiH believes that the establishment of the Eko-toplana Banja Luka has been performed to avoid public-private partnership in order to make the production and distribution of heat power private property. Recently, the employees of Toplana a.d. Banja Luka (Heating plant a.d. Banjaluka) filed criminal charges against the management of this company, and for all these reasons it is important to show publicly the Business-Technical Cooperation Agreement between the public enterprise Toplana a.d. Banja Luka and the company Eko-toplana Banjaluka d.o.o. Although TI BiH submitted a request for the access to information, the cop of this Agreement has not been provided yet.

TI BiH appeals to the Constitutional Court of RS to urgently evaluate the constitutionality and legality of the disputable Decision issued by the City of Banja Luka Assembly since its implementation will have seriously damaging consequences for the citizens and legal system of the Republic of Srpska.