DECISION IN JANUARY Constitutional Court did not impose a temporary measure regarding the construction of hydropower plants on the Drina

(Patria) - The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded its 124th plenary session today.

At today's plenary session, the Constitutional Court of BiH decided in case U 16/20 to postpone the decision on the temporary measure until January 2022, when the next plenary session is scheduled. Until then, the Constitutional Court will request relevant data from the parties in this procedure regarding the decision on the temporary measure in this case.

On Thursday, December 2, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a decision extending the deadline for the Commission for Concessions of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the next six months to respond to the dispute between the BiH entity of Republika Srpska (RS) and the state of BiH regarding the construction of hydropower plants on the Drina, which RS and Serbia are jointly planning to build.

The Commission for Concessions of Bosnia and Herzegovina sent a request to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for a deadline extension at the end of October.

Furthermore, due to very unclear and imprecise statements and declarations in the media regarding the Constitutional Court of BiH's decision in case U 9/21, this court informs the public that at yesterday's plenary session in the mentioned case, it made a final and binding decision on admissibility and merits.

In that decision, the Constitutional Court of BiH decided solely and exclusively on the wearing of beards by soldiers in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitutional Court points out that it decided this way because it was the only request from the applicant seeking an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 12, paragraphs (2) and (4) of the Rules of Service of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the absolute prohibition of soldiers of the Armed Forces of BiH wearing beards while on duty and in uniform. In this decision, apart from wearing beards, the Constitutional Court did not decide, for example, on wearing hijabs or any other parts of the uniform in the Armed Forces of BiH.

Also, we want to clearly point out that in this specific case, it is not a partial decision of the Constitutional Court in a way that any further decision is expected in this case (for example, regarding hijabs). Therefore, in this case, a decision on admissibility and merits has been made, which is final and binding, and with which the Constitutional Court of BiH has concluded the procedure in this case. The Constitutional Court has no submitted request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Rules of Service of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding wearing hijabs or regarding any other part of the uniform in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH made in case U 9/21 will soon be published on the website of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

From the AP decisions made at today's plenary session, the Constitutional Court highlights:

AP 681/20 (Majlis of the Islamic Community of Srebrenica) - in which the Constitutional Court concluded that the contested decision of the District Court in Bijeljina (District Court) violated the appellant's right to property because the District Court, in the absence of a legal framework for the procedure in which the appellant found himself, failed to protect the appellant's rights by direct application of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Convention.

All decisions adopted at today's plenary session will be delivered to the applicants/appellants within one month and published as soon as possible on the website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.