INSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Example: 199 A complainant claimed that the Federal Institute for Pension and Disability Insurance was the responsible party for violation of his right to pension. He states that he addressed the responsible party twice with a request for an old-age pension, but until the day of his addressing the Ombudsman, it has not been decided upon. At the request of the Ombudsman, the responsible party submitted that KAS Tuzla had issued an appropriate decision in the complainant's case. The procedure took longer because the complainant worked in Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Republika Srpska and Austria, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The case was resolved to the favor of the complainant. 6.3. Utilities In 2019 the Department registered 92 cases related to the utilities. The complaints were about the failure to provide services by utility companies, problems with water supply, unresolved requests for connection to the water supply network, problems related to the selection of a manager in charge of management and maintenance of the common areas in residential buildings, provision and denial of services by utility companies, irregularities in billing of utilities, statute of limitation of utility bills, etc. During their visits, the citizens often seek advice regarding lawsuits filed by utility companies for non-payment of due bills. They point out that they are threatened with disconnection of the household from the water supply network. Many citizens are not able to pay for utilities regularly, and utility companies also charge them for obsolete claims, which are claims older than a year, which puts additional pressure on their already difficult situation. Courts do not process these cases ex officio, so this is left to the parties to the proceedings to litigate, which results in the creation of legal uncertainty for legally ignorant parties. Example: 200 The complainant identified the Public Company "Komunalno" Livno as the responsible party in her complaint lodged to the Ombudsman. She states that she lives on Kruzi, a plateau above Livno, and that due to the height of the snow, communication with Livno is impossible, where her minor daughter goes to school. She sought the help of the responsible party but her appeals were ignored. On request of the Ombudsman the management of the Public Company "Komunalno" Livno issued an order to their workers to clear the snow the same day. The complainant informed the Institution that the snow had been cleared, thus successfully concluding the proceedings. Example: 201 The Ombudsman processed a case related to water supply. In this case the complainant claims that her neighbor prevents her from using water from the “Krč” spring, and that because of that she has not had water in her household for two months. Ombudspersons addressed the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Central Bosnia Canton and the Municipality of Kiseljak, which submitted a statement stating, inter alia, that the use of the water spring in question was carried out illegally and that the parties were given advice about the process of legalization and the documents necessary to be obtained. After that the Ž-SA-04-535/19 Ž-LI-04-11/19 201 Ž-SA-04-956/18 199 200 54