How can CRPC help with reconstruction and return?
There is a scarcity of accurate and reliable data matching displaced persons and refugees to specific properties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The records assembled by CRPC through the registration and verification of claims provide an invaluable source of data that can be used in planning and assessment. CRPC is also collecting and transferring property registration records to a Windows-based database, aiding in the redevelopment of BiH's property law system. This is important because many property records were damaged or destroyed during the war, and the computerized records that remained were difficult to access and use.

CRPC also facilitates reconstruction projects. Donors and reconstruction agencies may request CRPC to conduct an independent and impartial check on property records of houses and apartments to be repaired. This service provides the reconstruction agencies and their donors with the assurance that their projects proceed on a sound legal basis in accordance with the principles of Annex 7 of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

CRPC is also continuing to contribute to several initiatives that have been undertaken to ensure that property laws are implemented fairly and impartially so returns can take place. These initiatives include assisting in the implementation of the Provisional Election Commission (PEC) rule that persons who occupy housing subject to a municipal or CRPC decision are not eligible to stand for election and assisting UNMIBH/IPTF in ensuring that local police are not multiple or illegal occupants.

Why is the CRPC important to the future
of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, over two million people were deprived of their properties and many hundreds of thousands are living today in situations which do not provide them with long-term security. The absence of comprehensive and accessible property records and adequate safeguards to regulate property transactions can threaten the process of refugee return, reconstruction, economic development and basic human rights. By issuing final and binding legal decisions on a case by case basis, CRPC aims to restore a working system of property law and contribute to a stable and economically viable Bosnia and Herzegovina.