The Government of the Republic of Srpska held its 101st session today chaired by the Prime Minister Radovan Višković.

During the session, the Government approved the Proposal of the Law on Anti-Hail Protection which regulates the organization and factors of the anti-hail protection system, the way of financing and supervision over the implementation of this law, as well as other issues relevant for the hail defense system.

There was a need to improve the anti-hail protection system and to innovate some of the law provisions for the sake of easier application in practice in order to provide a unified anti-hail protection system in the Republic of Srpska.

The Government of the Republic of Srpska determined the Proposal of the Law on Free Zones of the Republic of Srpska.

This Law regulates the conditions for the establishment and operation of free zones, activities that can be performed in free zones and conditions for their performance, termination of free zones and other issues relevant for the operation of free zones in Republic of Srpska.

The reasons for passing this law were initiated by the need to improve the business environment and increase competitiveness as a basis for attracting investments, better utilization of industrial potentials and introduction of new technologies and job creation.

​The most significant differences between the Draft and the Proposal of this Law which are the result of the parliamentary debate refer to the fact that founders of free zones are defined more specifically and can be one or more domestic or foreign legal and natural persons.

The Government of the Republic of Srpska has approved the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska.

The main differences between the Proposal and the Draft Criminal Code of the Republic of  Srpska are the result of justified and accepted remarks and suggestions put forward during the session of the National Assembly, during the public debate and those submitted in writing to the Ministry of Justice.

Consequently, new penalties have been prescribed which are life imprisonment for the most serious crimes and the most serious forms of crime as well as the penalty of confiscation of a driver's license.

The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution and the statute of limitations for the execution of sentences have been increased.

Also, the minimum prison sentences for the crimes of child trafficking, abuse of trust and terrorism have been increased.

Alignment with GRECO recommendations for corruption offenses has been done.

The Government of the Republic of Srpska has approved the Draft Law on the Notary Service in the Republic of Srpska. In relation to the valid Law, the provisions concerning the official seat and the number of notaries have been changed in such a way that one official seat of notaries is determined for the area of ​​each local self-government unit in the Republic of Srpska. The number of notaries in the official seat shall be determined taking into account the annual number of documents processed by notaries, the level of development of the local self-government unit as well as the interest of citizens. The conditions for the appointment of notaries have been tightened. The notary assistants have been authorized to perform all tasks except the notarial processing of documents and probate proceedings.

Special attention is paid to legal security, so it is prescribed that the notary ex officio shall, at the expense of the party, immediately after the conclusion of the legal transaction which subject is the transfer or acquisition of ownership or other property rights, apply for registration in public records for the purpose of recording a concluded legal transaction. The provisions regarding the procedure of notarial processing of the document on the disposal of property acquired by the work of the spouses in the community of life have been amended.

Provisions related to the disciplinary accountability of notaries have been improved, as well as provisions for the supervision of the work of notaries carried out by the Ministry of Justice and the Notary Chamber. In order to keep a certain number of notaries in certain seats, this draft law proposes that the age limit for termination of service should increase from 65 to 67 years of age.

The Government of the Republic of Srpska has approved the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Animal Husbandry.

The proposed amendments to the Law on Animal Husbandry aim to define more precisely the goals of livestock production development in the Republic of Srpska, which relate to the application of information technologies and organic livestock production.

In addition, the provisions related to the organization of breeding of quality breeding animals are more precisely defined, where greater authorizations are given to breeding organizations with the aim of improving the production of domestic genetics in animal husbandry and thus increasing basic livestock products. By specifying the powers of breeding organizations, the space for the real sector has increased, and thus its more active participation in the implementation of agricultural policies in animal husbandry has been enabled, which is an important tool for creating new jobs in the real sector and attracting EU funds.

Also, the procedures for the production of genetic material have been simplified, as well as the procedures related to the organization of breeding in the real sector and the import of genetic material.

The Government adopted the Information on assigning the numerical codes to the users of municipal / city budgets in order to introduce a treasury system of business in the health centers of the Republic of Srpska. The Ministry of Finance is in charge of assigning numerical codes (codes) to all health centers under the Decision on numerical marks (codes) of users of municipal / city budgets for 2021.

Also, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Finance have been charged to continue with the activities for the purpose of establishing the functioning of the treasury system of business in all public health institutions.