RTRS must share license fees with BHRT, RS Supreme Court rules

Acting upon the March 2025 decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (No. AP-4567/23), the RS Supreme Court accepted BHRT’s claims and established that the broadcaster is legally entitled to 50% of the total license fees collected in Republika Srpska, after costs are deducted.

The lawsuits, filed by BHRT against RTRS, sought repayment of more than 10 million Bosnian marks (approximately €5.1 million), citing long-standing non-compliance with the Law on the Public Broadcasting System of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the RS Supreme Court’s ruling, RTRS had no legal grounds to retain the entirety of the collected funds, nor to condition their distribution on the formation of a joint Public Broadcasting Corporation.

The Supreme Court ordered that the lower courts in Banja Luka reopen the proceedings and apply the legal interpretations issued by the Constitutional Court. It further confirmed that BHRT has the legal right to request its share of the fees and that RTRS is obligated to transfer those funds to the joint account of the public broadcasting system.

“This ruling is a crucial step toward establishing a lawful and equitable distribution of the RTV license fees and reinforces the integrity of the public broadcasting system in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” BHRT said in a statement.

The broadcaster also reiterated that the court decisions validate its repeated claims of illegal conduct by RTRS, which, it says, has severely affected BHRT’s financial position. RTRS’s total debt to BHRT on this basis now exceeds 100 million marks (approximately €51 million).

“These rulings by Republika Srpska’s highest court are proof that even entity-level judicial institutions are bound by the state-level Constitutional Court’s decisions,” BHRT emphasised. “The decisions leave no doubt that RTRS’s withholding of funds was unlawful.”

The public broadcaster now expects that the renewed proceedings will ensure full compliance with the law and rulings of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top judicial institutions, ultimately guaranteeing legality, fairness, and sustainability of the public broadcasting system.

“We expect the next steps to bring long-awaited legal clarity and financial fairness, which will strengthen the position of all three public broadcasters and serve the interests of all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” BHRT concluded.