List of Suspects for Attack on Constitutional Order Grows Longer, but No Arrests: BiH Prosecutor's Office Opens Door to Legal Chaos

Written by: Amra Vrabac

In the Official Gazette of the RS of March 21, the Rulebook on the Procedure for Nomination and Election of the First Members of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of the RS was published, and it entered into force on March 22.

This Rulebook was allegedly prepared on March 7, the same day the Constitutional Court of BiH adopted a temporary measure and suspended the laws adopted by the National Assembly of the RS on February 27, which, among other things, prohibit the work of state judicial and investigative institutions in the RS (Court of BiH, Prosecutor's Office of BiH, SIPA), provide for the establishment of an entity-level High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, and a law providing for greater control over non-governmental organizations and the media.

The Rulebook on the HJPC of the RS is signed by the Minister of Justice of the RS, Miloš Bukejlović, who did not put it out of force after the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, thereby committing the criminal offense of non-execution of decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. In this way, he directly assists Milorad Dodik in carrying out the attack on the constitutional order, for which the Prosecutor's Office of BiH suspects him, together with Nenad Stevandić and Radovan Višković, the President of the NSRS and the Prime Minister of the RS.

Rulebook in force since March 22

Furthermore, these actions of the Government and the National Assembly of the RS constitute an attack on the existing state-level High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, which includes four members from the prosecutor's offices and courts of the RS. They have been directly threatened that they must leave the HJPC of BiH, or otherwise the courts and prosecutor's offices from which they come will be shut down and dislocated. Also, the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik, threatened to consider the possibility of confiscating property from all holders of judicial functions who remain working in the Court, Prosecutor's Office, and HJPC and ignore the entity laws.

A consequence of such threats is the announced first resignation of a member of the HJPC, who will leave the HJPC on March 31, even though her mandate was to expire in 2027.

Given the sluggishness of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, which has not arrested a single person since the attack on the constitutional order began on February 27, when the laws were adopted and then published in the Official Gazette of the RS, thereby entering into force, it is not excluded that personnel from the RS will indeed start leaving these institutions.

If the state does not have the ability to deal with those who are tearing it down, who then guarantees these people and their families protection from the threats and sanctions announced by the regime in Banja Luka, which has full control over the MUP of the RS? The authorities in the RS have also adopted a law establishing a special prosecutor's office and court to deal with those who do not follow the RS authorities in the attack on the constitutional order, i.e., those who do not comply with the adopted laws that undermine state institutions.

On the other hand, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH stated in its press release of March 6 that it has been conducting investigative actions since December 2024, so it is unclear why the case is marked with a 2025 designation. However, considering the sequence of steps and the slowing down of activities by the acting prosecutors towards the suspects, and the provision of space for further illegal actions, the public rightly questions whose interests the Prosecutor's Office of BiH is serving.

Response of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH delivered to the media on March 6

Statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konaković, that "the attack on the constitutional order is subsiding" can only come from someone who knows neither the law nor the criminal code. A committed criminal offense cannot be withdrawn, no matter how much someone at this moment wants to open space for Dodik to talk, withdraw laws, or negotiate.

The attack on the constitutional order must be sanctioned, because anything else sends a message that the state and its institutions are not strong enough, either independently or with the assistance of security forces, to deal with separatists and those who threaten peace in BiH and its structure guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement.

A first-instance guilty verdict against Milorad Dodik was pronounced at the Court of BiH on February 26, while the acting head of the Official Gazette of the RS, Miloš Lukić, was acquitted. After that verdict, Dodik activated the plan to destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, why no one is stopping him, despite a certain detention order and warrant, should be answered by the acting prosecutors and the Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, Milanko Kajganić.