Bosnia Constitutional Court blocks Republika Srpska budget payments for controversial lobbying contract

The court also banned the use of public funds for any lobbying activities whose objectives contradict the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Constitutional Court, or state institution rulings.

The ruling was issued following a dispute request filed by Denis Zvizdic, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. The case focused on state-level jurisdictional issues concerning public funds allocated to RS foreign representative offices, specifically 15 million Bosnian marks (approx. €7.67 million) in the 2026 budget and 49 million marks (approx. €25.05 million) under the second 2025 budget rebalance.

In its assessment of the 6 September 2025 agreement and similar contracts, the Constitutional Court determined that the actions taken by Republika Srpska violated Articles I/2, III/3.b), and VI/5 of the Constitution of BiH, ruling that the contractual objectives were fundamentally incompatible with the state constitutional framework.

Under Article 61, paragraph (4) of its Rules, the Court ordered the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the RS Government, foreign representative offices, and all relevant entity officials to immediately cease all financial disbursements and activities related to the disputed contract and prohibited lobbying services.