BiH Institutions Face New Test: What After Dodik's Refusal to Be Heard?

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

The events in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the relationship between judicial institutions and security agencies regarding the current situation in BiH are strange.

While public interest is mainly focused on SIPA, the BiH Prosecutor's Office is playing its own game. Only after seven days from the adoption of laws in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) that undermine the constitutional order of BiH did they 'leak' a few words, or rather, a single sentence statement in which they said they were conducting investigative actions.

Then, the media started to compete with information from the same BiH Prosecutor's Office, announcing summons for the leaders of Republika Srpska. It was as if they were publicly provoking reactions from Milorad Dodik and Radovan Višković, for whom they had sent summons for hearings, in connection with suspicions of committing a coup d'état. They didn't have to wait long.

Dodik, as expected, immediately stated that he would not respond to the summons of the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

„The BiH Prosecutor's Office is summoning me to give a statement tomorrow as a suspect for undermining the constitutional order, solely because I performed my duty prescribed by the Constitution and law following the decisions of the National Assembly of RS. The BiH Prosecutor's Office is an unconstitutional category and cannot speak about the Constitution. The bodies whose activities are banned on the territory of RS do not exist in the BiH Constitution. The speed with which they reacted indicates that everything was prepared in advance, and this is a continuation of political persecution,“ Dodik said.

Dodik is not giving up his stubbornness against the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have not yet shown adequate strength in responding to Dodik.

Therefore, the question arises, what now that Dodik has said NO after receiving the summons for a hearing.

In accordance with legal provisions, prosecutors of the BiH Prosecutor's Office cooperate in their investigative work with all law enforcement agencies in our country (Ministry of Security of BiH, Ministry of Defense of BiH, State Investigation and Protection Agency-SIPA, Border Police, OSA, Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, Ministry of Internal Affairs of FBiH, Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS, Brčko District Police, Financial Police, Tax Administration of RS, Tax Administration of FBiH).

An order to conduct an investigation is issued when the competent prosecutor assesses that there is sufficient evidence for reasonable suspicion that a certain person has committed a criminal offense. In the Order for Conducting an Investigation, the prosecutor clearly defines who the suspects are and for which criminal offenses they are suspected in the investigation.

We have clearly achieved that part, but further steps are in the fog, especially since it is unknown who could arrest Dodik and others and how, and if they do not respond to the summons, that is the fate that awaits them.

Because, the deprivation of liberty of a suspect can be carried out by a police agency or a law enforcement agency, and by those members who have police powers to deprive of liberty. Authorized officials can carry out deprivation of liberty when a person is caught in the commission of a criminal offense.

Also, authorized officials carry out deprivation of liberty at the request of the prosecutor handling a particular case, when the prosecutor concludes, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, that it is necessary for the conduct of the investigation and criminal proceedings to deprive the suspect of liberty.

However, there is also a possibility that Dodik will justify his absence from the BiH Prosecutor's Office, thereby buying himself additional time, which he needs more and more each day, and time is running out. Both for Dodik and for the BiH institutions, which must show that the protection of the state comes first, because the strength of the state is the strength of its institutions.