The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has made an important decision, declaring the laws and decisions adopted by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska unconstitutional and nullified.
The decision was made following a request by the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, and the Constitutional Court of BiH determined that the following acts are not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
The Law on the Non-Application of Laws and the Prohibition of the Activities of Unconstitutional Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska.
The Decision on Measures and Tasks Arising from Unconstitutional Decisions and Actions of Unconstitutional Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Items 3, 5, and 6 of the Conclusions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, adopted at the 17th special session held on February 26, 2025.
Therefore, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has declared the contested laws and decision null and void ab initio (from the beginning) and ruled that they cease to be in force from the date of their publication in the “Official Gazette of Republika Srpska,” number 19/25, and that items 3, 5, and 6 of the contested conclusions cease to be valid from the day they were adopted, stated Bećirović in his announcement.
Bećirović announced that he will continue to undertake all available legal actions in the future with the aim of protecting the constitutional order of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In the reasoning of today’s decision, the Constitutional Court of BiH referred to its established case law regarding the division of competences between the entities and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It pointed out that issues not explicitly listed in Article III/1 are not necessarily under the exclusive jurisdiction of the entities, because the Constitution of BiH prescribes state-level competences in other provisions as well (e.g., Articles I/1, II/7, III/1.a), III/5.a), IV/2, V/1, and V/3.a)).
When analyzing the constitutionality of the contested Law on the Non-Application of Laws and the Prohibition of the Activities of Unconstitutional Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitutional Court emphasized that this law entirely excludes the application of the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, the Law on the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Law on the Court of BiH, and the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.
The Court’s decision stressed that, in this way, both de facto and de jure, the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is being abolished in part of its territory, and the jurisdiction in the fields of justice and security is essentially being ‘returned’ to the entity of Republika Srpska,” he stated.
As a reminder, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, acting on Bećirović’s request, adopted a Decision on Temporary Measures on March 7, 2025, whereby the contested laws were temporarily suspended from legal effect, pending the issuance of this substantive decision by the Constitutional Court of BiH.
Furthermore, the Constitutional Court of BiH, in addressing the requests of the Deputy Chair of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Kemal Ademović, and the Chair of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Denis Zvizdić, determined that the Law on the Special Register and Transparency of Work of Non-Profit Organizations, the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Republika Srpska, and the Rulebook on the Procedure for Nominating and Electing the First Members of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Republika Srpska are not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
