BiH Constitutional Court rules Schmidt’s Criminal Code amendments constitutional in Dodik case

The deputies submitted a request to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a constitutional review of Article 203a of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 4 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Through the disputed Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the contested Article 203a was added to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, criminalizing conduct in which ''an official in an institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or in a canton, city, municipality, local community, or any body of local administration and self-government, or a responsible person, fails to apply, implement, enforce, or otherwise respect a decision of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, or prevents or otherwise obstructs the application, implementation, or enforcement of such a decision''.

In other words, the deputies challenged the amendments to the Criminal Code introduced by Schmidt, under which Milorad Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from holding public office.

The Constitutional Court found that Article 203a of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 4 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in accordance with Article I/2 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, because the contested provisions are accessible, precise, and foreseeable, and the prescribed criminal-law protection is aimed at legitimate legal values connected with preserving the rule of law and ensuring the functioning of the legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.