Conference Held on the occasion of the 120th Anniversary of the Academician Hamdija Ćemerlić’s Birth
The conference dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of academician Prof. Dr. Hamdija Ćemerlić was held today in the Ceremonial Hall of the University of Sarajevo Rectorate, organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo, the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the University of Sarajevo Rectorate, the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo and the Faculty of Islamic Sciences, University of Sarajevo. The program was implemented under the patronage of the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Denis Bećirović.
The conference program began with the opening and welcoming speeches, moderated by senior assistant Harun Išerić.
The attendees were addressed by Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović, Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Dr. Alija Kožljak, Head of the Cabinet of the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Denis Bećirović, Prof. Dr. Husnija Kamberović, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prof. Dr. Zinka Grbo, UNSA Faculty of Law Dean, and Prof. Dr. Mustafa Hasani, UNSA Faculty of Islamic Sciences Dean.
In his address, University of Sarajevo Rector, Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović, emphasized that today's conference marks the work and activities of academician Prof. Dr. Hamdija Ćemerlić - one of the most important lawyers, professors and intellectuals in the modern history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“His life path represents a combination of top legal knowledge, deep Islamic values and unwavering commitment to the development of the University of Sarajevo and Bosnian-Herzegovinian society as a whole. And his spirit - from a fighter and participant in the national liberation movement, a member of the ZAVNOBIH presidency and an AVNOJ councilor, a revolutionary to a reformer and initiator of the establishment of the Faculty of Law, and later the Faculty of Islamic Sciences - is an inexhaustible treasure for all of us who see in his work and results a guide and the importance of active social engagement”, emphasized Rector Zaimović.
As Rector, Prof. Ćemerlić, as Rector Zaimović emphasized, ensured the normative organization of the University, participating in the drafting of the first statutory and organizational acts by which the University defined its internal functioning and laid the foundations of institutional autonomy. He actively worked on connecting the University with the institutions of the judiciary, administration and legislative authorities, creating a network of cooperation that presented the University as a source of knowledge and expertise.
“His rectorial mandate will be remembered for the fact that he established the University as an institution, giving it solid normative foundations on which it still rests today,” said Rector Zaimović.
Concluding his speech, the Rector said that the University of Sarajevo today has almost eighty years of tradition thanks to visionaries like Hamdija Ćemerlić: “His work and legacy oblige us to continue strengthening the University as an autonomous institution of knowledge, freedom and responsibility.”
Dr. Alija Kožljak, Head of the Cabinet of the Member of the Presidency of BiH, Dr. Denisa Bećirović, on this occasion, emphasized that Ćemerlić was one of the most distinguished intellectuals that Bosnia and Herzegovina had.
“With this event, we are not only commemorating his life and work, but we are also confirming our obligation to preserve the tradition of knowledge, statehood and moral responsibility that he embodied, advocated and nurtured,” said Kožljak. He recalled that Ćemerlić was a man of exceptional breadth of spirit, which is illustrated by the fact that he understood law not only as a set of norms but as an expression of the moral consciousness of a people.
“As a university professor, rector, lawyer and patriot, he believed that the progress of the state begins in student classrooms, and is defended in state institutions, through the implementation of the law and respect for man,” emphasized Kožljak.
During six panels, almost 20 speakers spoke about the scientific thought of Academician Ćemerlić, his engagement as a teacher, founder and head of the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, the University of Sarajevo and the Faculty of Islamic Theology, his role in the restoration and building of the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina during and after World War II.
The conference included the premiere of a documentary film about Academician Ćemerlić, and an exhibition about his life and work, authored by Meho Manjgo and Ruhulah Hodžić, was set up in the lobby of the Rectorate. The exhibition systematically shows his life and academic path, as well as his participation in significant social events.
On this occasion, awards were also given for the best student papers:
- 1st place: Meho Manjgo, PhD student at the University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Islamic Sciences, paper: “Key functions of academician Hamdija Ćemerlić in the Islamic community”,
- 2nd place: Filip Novaković, PhD student at the Faculty of Law, University of Zenica, paper: “ZAVNOBIH as the foundation of modern statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina: constitutional and legal thought of academician Hamdija Ćemerlić in light of the continuity of Bosnian and Herzegovina statehood”,- Faculty of Law, paper: “The role of Hamdija Ćemerlić in shaping the Muslim nation, its recognition and affirmation”.
- 3rd place: Mirza Hasić, PhD student at the University of Sarajevo
