Crnalić: Bosnia and Herzegovina not yet mature for a Constitutional Court without foreign judges

The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina still will not consider the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH and the Law on the Constitutional Court of BiH, although it was announced for Tuesday, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The SDS and SNSD are demanding that articles prescribing sanctions for non-compliance with decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Court of BiH be removed from the Criminal Code.

The RS is also demanding the removal of foreign judges from the Constitutional Court of BiH. Of the 12 judges sitting on the Constitutional Court, three are foreigners. If the demands from the RS pass, BiH will be the first country in the world for which it is not mandatory to respect court decisions.

Former member of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (VSTV) Asim Crnalić told the Bosnian news agency Patria that the proposal to not criminally sanction non-compliance with court decisions is completely inappropriate and, from a legal standpoint, unsustainable.

- Those who do not execute court decisions should also be criminally liable. It would be out of place to have decision-making in the Constitutional Court if there were no guarantee for the execution of such decisions – Crnalić believes. He adds that in every civilized country, and even in those that lag somewhat in their development, court decisions are respected, including decisions of the Constitutional Court.

Nor is the SDS and SNSD proposal for a Constitutional Court of BiH without foreign judges acceptable to Crnalić.
It would be fortunate, he says, if foreigners did not need to sit on the Constitutional Court of BiH, but relations in BiH are still not developed to that extent, and misunderstandings have not been resolved, so their presence is very much needed, writes Patria.