In a Thursday plenary session, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled in favor of appellants Fikret Hodzic and the company "F. H. Srebrena Malina" d.o.o. (AP-667/24), finding a violation of their right to a fair trial. The Court determined that the contested verdict breached their right to be properly informed of the charges against them, leaving them unable to adequately prepare a defence.
The Constitutional Court highlighted that the initial verdict failed to remove doubts about whether the appellants were first presented with the legal qualification of the crime they were convicted of only at the time of the first-instance verdict. Consequently, it has ordered the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to address this procedural issue in the retrial.
Additionally, the Court partially upheld appeals filed by Fahrudin Solak and Fadil Novalic, citing a violation of their right to the presumption of innocence. This ruling pertains to public statements made by certain officials during the ongoing criminal proceedings, which the appellants argued influenced the case’s outcome. However, the court rejected other aspects of Solak and Novalic’s appeals.
The Constitutional Court further concluded that Solak and Novalic were convicted of the charges for which they were originally indicted. It ruled that minor adjustments to the verdict did not disrupt the subjective or objective consistency of the charges, with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina providing a thorough rationale for its decision.
The ruling also addressed media coverage and the public announcement of the verdict. The Constitutional Court noted that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had publicly announced the verdict by reading out its main points, with both the parties and the public present. Although some sections were not read in full, the Constitutional Court found no violation in this procedure, confirming that appellants were informed of the decision and that the official verdict matched the written judgment.
Regarding media reporting, the Constitutional Court stated that there was no indication that media coverage influenced the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s decision, nor that it had any bearing on the final judgment. This announcement was provided by the Constitutional Court.
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