Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina PUBLISHED: ("Official Gazette of BiH", 29/02)

Pursuant to Article IV.4.a) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the session of the House of Representatives held on August 1, 2002, and at the session of the House of Peoples held on September 5, 2002, adopted the

LAW
ON AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THE LAW ON
THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Article 1.
In the Law on the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 1/97), in Article 2, paragraph 3, point a, the words: "at a rate of 1 to 1 in relation to the German Mark" are replaced with the words: "at a rate determined in Article 32 of this Law".

Article 2.
In Article 10, the words: "State Council" are replaced with the words: "Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Article 3.
In Article 20, paragraph 4 is amended and reads:
"4. The Governor may, with the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint deputies to the Chief Controller to assist the Chief Controller in performing his duties."

Article 4.
In Article 25, paragraph 1, the words: "equivalent to the amount of 25 million German Marks" are deleted.

Article 5.
In Article 29, paragraph 1, point a, the words: "value of assets falls below the amount of assets" are replaced with the words: "value of its assets falls below the amount of its liabilities".

Article 6.
The text of Article 32 under the heading is amended and reads:
"The official exchange rate for the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one convertible mark for 0.511292 euros, or one euro equals 1.955830 convertible marks."

Article 7.
In Article 33, paragraph 1, the words: "German Marks" are replaced with the word "Euro".

Paragraph 2 of Article 33 is amended and reads:
"2. Commercial banks and other authorized financial institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina shall, upon request, buy and sell the convertible mark for the Euro, without restriction and at the rate determined in Article 32 of this Law. The maximum of their commission, fees, and other charges for such transactions may not exceed 1%."

Article 8.
In Article 35, the words: "German Marks" are replaced with the word "Euros".

Article 9.
In Article 36, paragraph 1, the words: "between 10 and 15%" are replaced with the words: "between 10 and 20%".
In Article 36, paragraph 5, the words: "same week" are replaced with the words: "same period, namely 10 days", and the sentence: "If the failure to fulfill obligations continues for another week, the Central Bank will notify the competent banking institutions so that they can initiate the procedure for closing the bank." is replaced and reads: "If the failure to fulfill obligations continues for another period, namely 10 days, the Central Bank will notify the competent banking institutions so that they can take appropriate steps against the bank."

Article 10.
In Article 38, paragraphs 3, 4, 5, and 6 are deleted.

Article 11.
In Article 74, point j is deleted.

Article 12.
After Article 75, a new Article 75a is added, which reads:
"Article 75a.
Legal Issues Arising from the Introduction of the Euro

1. Wherever any legal document (hereinafter: legal act), valid on December 31, 2001, refers to the unit of national currency replaced by the Euro, such reference shall be considered as a reference to the corresponding Euro unit, in accordance with the official conversion rate and in accordance with the rounding rules established by the Council of the European Union.
2. Legal issues arising from the replacement of national currencies with the Euro, which are mentioned in the legal act, including legal issues that imply a variable interest rate or index referred to in the legal act, shall be resolved by applying the law of the country whose currency is thus changed.
3. The replacement of the national currency with the Euro shall not have the effect of invalidating or releasing the obligation under any legal act, nor shall it allow any party to unilaterally modify or terminate such a contract.
4. For the purposes of this Article, legal act means any legislative or statutory provision, administrative act, court decision, contract, unilateral legal act, payment instrument other than banknotes and coins, and any other instrument with legal force."

Article 13.
This Law shall enter into force on the eighth day from the date of publication in the "Official Gazette of BiH".

PS BiH No. 80/02
September 5, 2002
Sarajevo

Chairman of the
House of Representatives
Chairman of the
House of Peoples
Parliamentary Assembly of BiH
Parliamentary Assembly of BiH

Mariofil Ljubić, s.r.
Dr. Nikola Špirić, s.r.

Note: This Law was published in the "Official Gazette of BiH", No. 29/02, and entered into force on October 20, 2002.