President Martinović and Constitutional Court judges knowingly lead the Federation into a constitutional crisis, and the Parliament into procedural chaos!

Written by: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

Yesterday's session of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated a complete lack of interest in protecting the constitutionality and legality of processes in this entity. At least if judged by the official information on the Court's website. Because there is still no decision on the submissions of representatives in the Parliament of the FBiH, and this possibility of harmful consequences and room for unconstitutional action expands until the moment of complete system collapse.

The Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the most responsible institution for the state of constitutionality in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus fails to deliver a verdict regarding several disputes that representatives of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated against the leadership of the House of Representatives due to the violation of their rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.

The attitude of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH towards these issues is interesting for at least two reasons - due to the length of time that has passed since the submission of the requests, and due to the significance and gravity of the issues, but also the possible implications that could arise after the adoption of court decisions for the functioning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially its legislative authority.

Two requests were submitted by a group of representatives back in November last year, and another two at the beginning of this year, so it is strange and irresponsible that the Constitutional Court of the FBiH has not found it appropriate to deliver a verdict on these requests.

This attitude of the Court is also interesting in the context of the fact that in some cases the requesters themselves requested urgent action in the request itself, but also in light of the fact that regarding some of the submitted requests, the Constitutional Court requested and has already received a statement from the House of Representatives of the FBiH on the claims of the group of representatives who submitted the request.

Given the importance of the issues covered by the submitted requests, some representatives told us in conversation that it was more than realistic to expect the Constitutional Court to treat these requests as a priority. For this reason, on May 6, 2024, they also sent a request to the Constitutional Court asking the Court to use the possibility prescribed by the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to resolve these requests as a priority.

In their request, they stated, among other things: “Respecting the fact that there is a pronounced public interest in resolving the disputes indicated above, that the outcome of the initiated disputes could have serious repercussions on constitutionality in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the fact that the leadership of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues the practice of gross violation of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives of the FBiH and the Constitution of the FBiH, thereby seriously undermining the rule of law and denying the principle of constitutionality, we believe there is a basis to proceed with priority consideration and decision-making on the submitted requests indicated above. Accordingly, we request the President of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH, Aleksandra Martinović, and the judge rapporteur on the aforementioned cases to, based on Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the public interest, grant this request and propose consideration of the submitted requests under urgent procedure.”

But President Martinović and the acting judge obviously do not care about the need for constitutionality and procedural order in the functioning of the House of Representatives of the FBiH, so at the session held nine days after the request of the group of representatives, they again did not consider their requests.

It is astonishing that the Constitutional Court, as the protector of constitutionality, does not show sensitivity towards these requests and does not act, and it is increasingly evident that the Constitutional Court has sent a message regarding the submitted requests that it will not consider them urgently, and thus those who have so far shown a willingness to act unconstitutionally are encouraged to continue the practice of violating the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.

The Constitutional Court should not be involved in political processes in a way that its (in)action contributes to the erosion of the rule of law. What is expected of the Constitutional Court is to show sensitivity to the public interest and to control politics in a way that keeps it within constitutional frameworks. And this is achieved exclusively through efficient adjudication of disputes submitted to the Constitutional Court.

However, in parliamentary corridors, since the submission of the requests, the political loyalty of certain judges, including the President of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH, Aleksandra Martinović, has been mentioned, where the option was mentioned that judges loyal to the SDP and HDZ would delay and ultimately render decision-making on the disputes meaningless when the mandate of the current convocation comes to an end.

The very action of the Constitutional Court in recent months has vindicated that information, because in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiH we have witnessed chaos and anarchy, and the arbitrary rule of the parliamentary majority, multiple times. Through its inaction, the Constitutional Court has not only endangered the constitutionality of processes and procedural functioning but also jeopardized the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the rule of law is mentioned as one of the fundamental conditions.

On the other hand, on May 28, a session will be held at which, by all accounts, Marin Vukoja will be elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH, and due to the inaction of the Constitutional Court, we could have a situation where a judge of the State Constitutional Court is appointed at an unconstitutional session of the House of Representatives.

At the same time, the public was shocked when it was announced that representatives were sent an amended Rules of Procedure (on which a decision of the Constitutional Court is expected) under a sort of label “confidential” and “for private use.”

Undoubtedly, particular interests dominate the parliamentary life of the Federation, and the question awaiting an answer is: have Aleksandra Martinović and the judges of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH, by delaying decision-making on the representatives' submissions, knowingly led the FBiH into a constitutional and procedural crisis in the Parliament of the FBiH!?