Politically Dependent Judges of the Constitutional Court Jeopardized Order and Rule of Law in FBiH: Dodik Gets a Warning, While Many Undermine the State!

Written by: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

When the Constitutional Court of the sub-state administrative arrangement of the Federation of BiH has politically loyal judges who calculate and non-transparently hide their decisions from the public, then we should not be surprised that Marin Vukoja was elected to the state Constitutional Court outside all procedures and rules, with a tail in the form of an appeal against his election.

Everything could and should have been different if the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Federation had not demonstrated in the simplest way what loyalty to political parties means. Because cases on which the constitutionality or legality of all processes in the Federation of BiH depends have been waiting for months to be considered and decided upon.

Often in comments and analyses, judges and prosecutors from the Court of BiH and downwards are rightly targeted by criticism, but it is mostly forgotten that in the constitutional courts of the state and entities we have politically loyal judges who do not implement constitutions and rules but rather the particular interests of those to whom they owe their election.

And without doubt, this happened with the decisions on requests for constitutionality assessments by representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation. The Constitutional Court of FBiH made three out of four decisions, but the requesters did not receive decisions for what is probably the most important session of the House of Representatives of FBiH in this term.

They also did not receive responses to their request for a temporary measure. All this gives us the absolute right to assert that the rule of law in the Federation of BiH is currently threatened perhaps as much as in the other entity.

Procrastination and non-transparency are elements that, along with corruption, keep BiH's judiciary at the lowest levels among European countries. The judges of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of BiH should know that they are not an end in themselves, but are there to protect the rule of law, the constitutional order, and the rules.

They probably know this, but they have a problem because they were politically targeted to do exactly what they have done in recent days and months. That is, to leave the public in the Federation and parliamentary representatives in uncertainty and without information on whether the constitutive session of the House of Representatives was convened in accordance with the Constitution and whether the way Mladen Bošković conducted sessions in the presence of the Chairperson of the House of Representatives, but without the consent of the other Deputy Chairperson, is contrary to the Rules of Procedure based on the Constitution.

Unlike the decisions concerning the constitutionality of the work of the highest legislative body in FBiH and the processes within it, which the Constitutional Court of FBiH kept secret solely for political motives, today we had a "Public announcement of the decision in the dispute between the Prime Minister of FBiH (Nermin Nikšić) and the Government of TK regarding the appointment of the Management Board of the Public Health Institution University Clinical Center Tuzla".

When they want to and when their political bosses need it, then public announcement is possible. Because, sitting in the Constitutional Court is former SDP minister in the Government of Tuzla Canton, Alen Taletović. Even the President of the Constitutional Court, Aleksandra Martinović, is not averse to political connections, as indeed are most judges.

Therefore, the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially the profession, have the right and the obligation to question the modus operandi of the Constitutional Court of FBiH, which is clearly dancing to political tunes contrary to the rule of law.

All the events surrounding Marin Vukoja and the hermetic closure of the Constitutional Court of FBiH on issues of constitutionality of processes must be a lesson for all political structures that hope to come to power after the current ones.

Because, the longer the practice of hiding extended arms of political interests under the robes of judges continues, the further Bosnia and Herzegovina will be from the rule of law, from approaching Euro-Atlantic integrations, and the more threatened its existence will be.

The game must end with Vukoja and this composition of the Constitutional Court of FBiH. Of course, if that is possible and if the damage can be repaired. But those who will hold power in the coming years must learn the lessons and cut off the bad practice.

Anything less than cutting off such practice will keep us at the bottom of reports on the rule of law, the judiciary, and all those norms that are important for BiH's path towards more orderly societies. If we are still on that path, and it is largely questionable whether we are?!