Bosnian Constitutional Court annuls 'Russian' laws in Republika Srpska

2025-05-29 17:06:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 29 annulled the laws on the special register and transparency of the work of non-profit organizations in Republika Srpska (RS) for failing to implement the laws and prohibiting the functioning of unconstitutional institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of RS.

The Constitutional Court also annulled the amendments to the Criminal Code of this entity in Bosnia, which had defined a new criminal offense: "disrespect or failure to implement decisions of RS institutions or bodies."

The RS People's Assembly had adopted a law aimed at controlling the work of non-governmental organizations, but the Bosnian Constitutional Court found it to be "almost identical in content" to the Law on Foreign Agents in Russia, which the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has challenged.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found in its decision that the categories “non-profit organizations”, “foreign agents” and “political activities and activities” were formulated too broadly.

“This enables public authorities to consider any activity of civil society organizations as prohibited and to sanction it,” the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated, adding that sanctions include the prohibition of activity and criminal liability of the responsible persons. As for the RS Entity Law on the Non-Implementation of Laws and the Prohibition of the Functioning of Unconstitutional Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitutional Court noted that this law completely excludes the application of the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Law on the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This law was also declared invalid.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that the “return” of competencies to the entities, which were previously defined as state-level competencies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “is not in contradiction with the Constitution of Bosnia”, but emphasized that “the Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina has exclusive competence on this issue”.

The court emphasized that that law "de facto and de jure denies the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina in part of its territory and its competences in the field of justice and security."

Due to the adoption of that law, the Bosnian Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the leadership of the RS entity for undermining the constitutional order of Bosnia, and an arrest warrant has been issued against them for failing to appear before the Bosnian Court, while international sanctions have also been imposed on them.

Regarding the amendments to the RS Criminal Code and the definition of “disrespect or non-implementation of decisions of RS institutions or bodies” as a criminal offense, the Bosnian Constitutional Court emphasized that the contested provision is formulated so broadly that it provides for criminal liability for non-implementation of any decision of any RS institution or body, regardless of which social values ??are at risk in the specific case.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia underlined that from the contested provisions it follows that all decisions of all bodies and institutions of the RS are binding, regardless of whether they are final, constitutional or legal.

"Finally, the contested provision establishes the supremacy of decisions of the RS entity over decisions of state bodies and institutions, which in the legal order in terms of hierarchy are above the entity bodies, and regulates the issue of the conduct of persons employed in Bosnian institutions, which is an exclusive competence of the state level," the Court's decision, which annulled these legal changes, stated.

The RS National Assembly passed the contested laws following the non-final verdict against RS President Milorad Dodik. Dodik was found guilty in February of failing to comply with decisions by the international high representative, Christian Schmidt, and of signing a decree promulgating laws that Schmidt had previously annulled.

These laws were intended to prevent the implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the High Representative in the territory of RS, which had previously overturned laws adopted by the entity parliament related to the registration of state property owned by the entity or laws on official holidays.

Dodik's lawyer and the Bosnian Prosecution have appealed the verdict, while the Appeals Council has set the start of the retrial for June 12, after which the final verdict will be known./ Rel