Bosnia's Cons. Court: Dodik's previous actions have come back to haunt him

Dodik, who has been sentenced to one year in prison for failing to comply with decisions of the High Representative of the international community in BiH and banned from political activity for six years as a consequence of a guilty verdict, is to blame for this delay himself, as the Constitutional Court is operating under difficult conditions due to blockades he imposed.

In an attempt to use all available legal means to challenge the final verdict of the Court of BiH and the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH (CEC) to strip Dodik of the mandate of RS president, his lawyers have submitted a request to the state Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of the verdict, and to suspend it with a provisional measure until a final ruling is made.

This would allow Dodik to retain his current position for at least some more time.

The Constitutional Court of BiH confirmed that they have received these requests, but clarified that everything will be decided through the regular procedure, meaning Dodik will have to wait in line like all other appellants.

They stated that the Constitutional Court currently cannot provide information on the date of the session at which Dodik's appeal will be considered, adding that the court processes such requests in chronological order.

"We note that since November 2022, the Constitutional Court has been operating under difficult conditions and with an incomplete composition, because the National Assembly of Republika Srpska refuses to fulfil its constitutional obligation to appoint judges to the vacant judicial positions. For this reason, sessions of the Grand Chamber, which under normal circumstances adopts the majority of decisions (almost 99% of all rulings), as well as sessions of the Small Chamber, which typically rules on provisional measures, cannot be held," the Constitutional Court stated, as reported on Thursday by Banja Luka-based Nezavisne novine.

The Constitutional Court must now make decisions in plenary sessions, meaning with the participation of all judges.

They reminded the public that it was precisely Dodik who caused this situation, as his political pressure effectively forced the constitutional judge from the Serb quota, Zlatko Knežević, to resign, while the other judicial seat had already been vacant due to a judge’s retirement.

The RS' parliament then refused to appoint new judges in an effort to challenge the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the same court from which Dodik is now seeking protection.

"Just as a goat guards cabbage, so does the Constitutional Court of BiH guard the Constitution. It is the only constitutional court in the world that has managed to make itself unconstitutional. There isn’t a single constitutional provision they haven’t violated," Dodik previously said, disputing the legality of the Constitutional Court’s work.

This court, as established by the Dayton Agreement, consists of two judges from each of the three constituent peoples, along with three foreign judges appointed by the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Dodik had attempted to push through a new law on the Constitutional Court of BiH that would eliminate the three foreign judges from its composition. He also demanded that decisions be made based on ethnic principles, meaning that at least one judge from each constituent people must vote in favour for a decision to be valid. These demands were firmly rejected by Bosniak political parties.

Now, the Constitutional Court of BiH has reminded him that all of his previous actions have come back to haunt him and he must now wait for a response, with no clear timeline as to when it might come.

According to available data, the Constitutional Court currently has more than 13,000 unresolved appeals, including those requesting urgent measures.

In addition to seeking protection from the Constitutional Court, Dodik has also filed an appeal against the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to remove him from the position of RS president. The Court of BiH is expected to issue a final decision on that matter by next week at the latest.

If the dismissal is upheld, early elections for the RS presidency will be called.