Court of BiH Remains Functional in RS Despite Entity Parliament’s Ban
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The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is functioning smoothly and maintaining full operations, with scheduled hearings taking place regularly, the judicial body reported on March 17th.
“Some hearings that were scheduled earlier have been canceled due to objective procedural reasons,” stated the Court of BiH, emphasizing that “the planning and conducting of hearings will proceed as usual in the upcoming period.”
On February 27, the RS Assembly enacted a law that unlawfully hinders the operations of four judicial and investigative entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina within that entity.
This law affects the Court of BiH, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), as well as the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC).
Concurrently, the RS government introduced legal measures to discipline employees in the RS who disregard the directives from the authorities of this entity.
This decision came a day after the Court of BiH sentenced Milorad Dodik to a year in prison and imposed a six-year prohibition on him from holding the office of President of the RS for showing disrespect towards the High Representative’s decisions.
Prior to the parliamentary session that adopted the law imposing a ban on the functioning of state institutions within the RS, Dodik declared that this entity would “dispute the actions of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.”
While clarifying the legal measures passed by the Assembly, he claimed that, once enacted, they would ensure that “no individual officially representing the Court or Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in the RS is permitted to act in any capacity.”
He further threatened that those who defy this law will face legal consequences once it takes effect.
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