The process of the return of property and people to their homes in Bosnia-Herzegovina has been slow, but in the past year and a half a substantial progress has been made as a result of the pressure exerted on state administration by the international community as well as ombudsmen, Franjo Crnjac, one of three ombudsmen of the Serbian entity in Bosnia, Republic of Srpska (RS), has said in an interview for STA.
Many people were forced to leave their homes during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and some of them are now gradually returning, a condition for which is the return of their property, said Crnjac.

The three RS ombudsmen are primarily focused on the return of property, while the return of people represents an even more complex issue. The latter is not only connected to the return of property, but also to the normalisation of life, namely opportunities for employment, education, and similar, said Crnjac.

In view of the overall poverty in Bosnia-Herzegovina, this is a process which will be difficult to conclude, even though it is being gradually solved as the property is being returned despite some resistance, Crnjac added.

The three ombudsmen can thus also pay some attention to "normal" activities, namely the corrective and supervisory role, which is similar to that of their European counterparts, according to Crnjac.

Around 8,000 written complaints were received by RS ombudsmen since the beginning of 2002, 80 percent of which concerned the delay in the return of property taken away during the war.

There are three ombudsmen institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Besides the central ombudsman institution, headed by Ombudsman Frank Orton, there is an ombudsman institution in the Bosnian Federation and the Republic of Srpska.

The ombudsman institution of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina which has been introduced seven year ago, is comprised of three ombudsmen, one for each entity.

Following the same structure of three ombudsmen, this institution was introduced in the Republic of Srpska in 2000. Three ombudsmen, representing three entities in RS, are elected for a five-year term and decisions are made on the principle of consensus, Crnjac explained.

"The division of work between ourselves is not based on national grounds, but there are cases when citizens demand to see the ombudsman of their own nationality," Crnjac added.

The fact that the institution of ombudsman is divided among three people is a particularity caused by the war. This was a solution found by the international community in order to encourage the citizens to seek help in the office of ombudsman, explained Crnjac.