Attack on the state of BiH by entity prime minister and entity president

Written for NAP: Sifet Kukuruz, legal expert

The Constitutional Court of BiH today, fully justified, officially placed the federal prime minister Nermin Nikšić, due to unconstitutional actions and attacks on the state of BiH, "shoulder to shoulder" with the entity president Milorad Dodik.

The Constitutional Court of BiH determined that the entity prime minister and the entity president are acting against the state and the constitution, and that they do not respect the previously made decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Therefore, as of today, it is a judicially proven legal fact that both of them, through their wrongdoings, have acted contrary to the interests of the state of BiH, acted contrary to the Constitution of BiH and the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Both of them have attacked the state of BiH by usurping its right to property. By disposing of state property, both of them have damaged the budget of the state of BiH, which in itself is enough for them to be prosecuted.

At the same time, through their actions, both of them have acted unconstitutionally because they have violated the Constitution of BiH, i.e., they have acted contrary to the constitutional norms on the division of competencies, which place the issue of regulating state property under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state of BiH.

Furthermore, both of them have acted contrary to previously made decisions of the Constitutional Court, which clearly, precisely, and with explanation determined and clarified that the right to regulate the status of state property is reserved by the Constitution of BiH exclusively for the state of BiH, not for the entities.

Following the previous adoption of the Constitutional Court's decision on interim measures in the case of state property on Jahorina and state property in Vareš, both of them, in essence, reacted in an identical manner, denying that they were usurping the rights of the state of BiH, violating the Constitution of BiH, and disrespecting the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Today's decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH have shown that they were not telling the truth and that, not only did they not respect the Constitutional Court of BiH as the supreme judicial instance in the country, but they continued to implement anti-state and unconstitutional policies.

Due to the dissemination of untruths, it would be realistic to expect resignations from the positions that both of them hold. However, since resignation is a moral act and an expression of respect for the state of BiH, such an act is logically and morally impossible in this specific case.

The only thing that remains, in the context of the facts presented above, and about which there can be no doubt, is the initiation and conduct of proceedings to determine the criminal responsibility of the entity prime minister and the entity president, because in the actions of both, there is undoubtedly direct intent for anti-state and unconstitutional actions.

The degree of unconstitutional and anti-state action is sufficiently indicated by the fact that the official statement of the Constitutional Court of BiH states that the decisions of the entity governments are null and void, and that at the same time, the entity governments and relevant ministries are obliged to take appropriate steps to annul all decisions and activities based on the contested decisions.

Therefore, the decision of the FBiH Government and the decision of the RS Government are null and void, which means that no rights, and thus no financial benefits for the entity and lower-level government budgets, could have been acquired based on them.

After today's decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, even the biggest skeptics can no longer have any doubt that anti-state and unconstitutional actions are being carried out throughout the territory of BiH, i.e., by the authorities of both entities.

Although the internal constitutional structure of the entities is characterized by asymmetry, after today's decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, there can be no doubt that the entities have some common elements and that symmetry in their actions, characterized by anti-state and unconstitutional behavior, is gradually being established.

It is now more than clear that the state of BiH has been attacked by its entities and that defense mechanisms for the state of BiH must be urgently activated. What is particularly concerning is the fact that the difference between the entities in their anti-state and unconstitutional actions is decreasing. The actions of entity prime minister Nermin Nikšić and entity president Milorad Dodik are the best confirmation of such a claim.