Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court Issues Temporary Measure to Suspend Laws Passed by RS National Assembly
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has enacted a temporary measure during an extraordinary session, halting the contentious laws that were approved by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, according to N1 BiH.
These laws aim to ban the activities of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (HJPC) within the territory of the RS.
Two submissions have been made to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina seeking a review of constitutionality and the establishment of interim measures. One of these requests is from BiH Presidency member Denis Bećirović along with Denis Zvizdić and Kemal Ademović, while the other comes from 11 representatives from SDA and DF in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bećirović previously remarked, “The unlawful actions taken by the authorities of the BiH entity of RS demand a decisive and united response from all state officials in BiH. We must put an end to the blatant assaults on the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
The temporary measure will remain in effect until a final ruling is issued by the Constitutional Court of BiH.
On February 27, the RS National Assembly passed the Law on Non-Application of Laws and Prohibition of the Activities of Extra-Constitutional Institutions, the Law on the RS HJPC, along with amendments to the RS Criminal Code.
These laws, which became effective upon publication in the entity’s Official Gazette, prohibit the functioning of four state institutions within the RS—namely, the Court of BiH, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the HJPC of BiH, and SIPA.
The impetus for these laws was the conviction of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Milorad Dodik, by the Court of BiH for neglecting to enforce the decisions of the High Representative in BiH.
Last week, the Court of BiH sentenced Dodik to a year in prison and barred him from holding the office of President of the Republika Srpska for a period of six years.
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