9 JANUARY: The BiH Prosecutor's Office Still Ignores Non-Enforcement of Constitutional Court Decisions!

Written by: A. Čorbo-Zećo

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The date of celebration of RS Day - January 9 - was declared unconstitutional back in 2015. Since then, the BiH Prosecutor's Office has not mustered the strength nor shown the will to prosecute those who shamelessly continue to celebrate this unconstitutional day.

The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina treats the non-enforcement of a decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the Human Rights Chamber as a criminal offense.

Article 239 states:

- An official in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, institutions of the entities, or institutions of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who refuses to enforce a final and binding decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the Human Rights Chamber, or prevents such a decision from being enforced, or otherwise obstructs its enforcement, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six months to five years.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for conducting investigations, has justified itself by claiming that they have not received a ruling from the Constitutional Court of BiH confirming the non-enforcement of the Constitutional Court's decision, nor the identification of individuals who are not implementing the decision.

The decision was made on November 26, 2015, and the six-month deadline expired on May 26, 2016.

Along with the BiH Prosecutor's Office, the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and the OHR should certainly react at the political level due to the unquestionable undermining of the Dayton constitutional and legal order.

"The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has established by its final decision that January 9 cannot be the day of the RS entity, and organizing a celebration, despite the decision of the Constitutional Court, constitutes a criminal offense. Article 239 of the Criminal Code of BiH clearly stipulates that refusing decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and preventing their enforcement constitutes a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years," they recently stated in a press release from the SDA.

But the BiH Prosecutor's Office, through its inaction, shows that SNSD officials are protected.

The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada also seeks a concrete statement from the Chief Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milanko Kajganić, on when the Prosecutor's Office will prosecute the unconstitutional and anti-state celebration of the day of the entity Republika Srpska.