On March 24, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) announced the first-instance verdict in the criminal case involving Milorad Dodik and others.

Earlier, on February 26, the Court acquitted Miloš Lukić of charges related to failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative. However, Milorad Dodik was found guilty of the same offense under Article 203a, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The court sentenced Milorad Dodik to one year in prison and imposed a security measure preventing him from holding the office of President of the Republika Srpska for six years, effective from the date the verdict is finalized.

The day after, February 27, the RS National Assembly passed laws prohibiting and criminalizing the operations of state police and judicial institutions within the entity. On March 7, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina temporarily suspended these laws.

These laws were enacted following the initial verdict against RS President Milorad Dodik, who was found guilty of disregarding decisions made by High Representative Christian Schmidt and had previously signed a decree that reinstated laws annulled by Schmidt.

The legislation sought to inhibit the implementation of decisions made by the Constitutional Court of BiH and the High Representative, particularly concerning laws about the registration of state property and holidays in the RS territory.

Authorities including the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska—Milorad Dodik, Radovan Višković, and Nenad Stevandić—are under suspicion for violating the constitutional order, with a central arrest warrant issued against them.

The RS National Assembly has also proposed a draft of a new RS Constitution intended to define the entity as a state for the Serbian people, grant it the right to self-determination, establish its own military, and eliminate the Council of Peoples and vice presidents from other constituent groups.

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