RS Const Court: Replacing prison sentences with fines unconstitutional

The Court ruled that Article 46a, Paragraph 3 of the RS Criminal Code, which allows a prison sentence of up to one year to be automatically replaced with a fine at the request of the convicted person, is not in accordance with the Constitution.

According to the Constitutional Court in Banja Luka, this provision limits judges by not allowing them the discretion to decide, based on the specific circumstances of the case, whether the substitution of the sentence is justified. This undermines the principles of fairness and individualised sentencing approaches.

The Court also highlighted that the provision favours convicted individuals with financial means, as they can pay a fine to avoid imprisonment, while those with limited financial resources cannot.

The Constitutional Court of the RS stated that in this way, the constitutional principle of equality of citizens before the law is violated.

Today, the Court also ruled that certain provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the Banja Luka City Assembly are unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court annulled two provisions that allowed proposals to be removed from the agenda if the Assembly's working body did not support them.

It concluded that working bodies do not have the authority to decide the agenda, as this right belongs exclusively to the Assembly in accordance with the Law on Local Self-Government.

According to the Constitutional Court of the RS, such actions exceed legal authority and violate the principle of legality.