Constitutional Court of BiH Without Comment: 15 Decisions Pending, BiH Prosecutor's Office Does Nothing

(Patria) - The Constitutional Court of BiH has been attacked, its decisions are not respected, which, experts warn, is a criminal offense. And while in recent days the public focus has been on the Constitutional Court of BiH, because Milorad Dodik wants foreign judges to leave, as he does not want to implement the latest decision of this highest legal institution, there is no official stance from the Constitutional Court of BiH. 

There will be none, because when asked by the Patria News Agency whether we are witnessing the undermining of the constitutional order and whether the BiH Prosecutor's Office should react, they said they could not answer such questions. 
However, they provided data on how many rulings of the Constitutional Court of BiH are not being respected.

„According to the latest Report on the Execution of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted at the session of the Grand Council on January 15, 2020, it appears that a total of 8 decisions in „U“ cases are unexecuted (U-9/09, U-7/12, U-29/13, U-23/14, U-6/16 and U-21/16, which were not executed by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and U-15/11 and U-20/16, which were not executed by the Parliament of FBiH).

Furthermore, it appears that 7 decisions in „AP“ cases are unexecuted (AP-602/04, AP-912/06, AP-3125/08, AP-3744/09, AP-861/10, AP-2307/17 and AP-2922/17-order were not executed by the Cantonal Court in Mostar, the Municipal Court in Široki Brijeg, the Municipality of Široki Brijeg, the Municipality of Trebinje, the Government of Canton 10, and the Ministry for Refugees and Displaced Persons of Republika Srpska, Banja Luka Office)“, said the Constitutional Court of BiH for Patria. 

Among others, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not execute within the given deadline the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the part that „Each constituent people is given one seat in each canton“ upon the appeal of Božo Ljubić. Also pending is the harmonization of the Law on OSA and police officers upon the appeals of Borjana Krišto. 

A decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH that is awaiting implementation is certainly the decision on the part of the BiH Election Law relating to Mostar. Due to the non-implementation of this decision, Mostar has not had elections for years, which directly affects the lives of Mostar residents.

Also, decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH have not been implemented in many cases concerning citizens' appeals that did not have a political background. Therefore, the question arises whether the state of BiH is capable of effectively implementing court decisions of the highest judicial instance in the country?

According to the records of the Constitutional Court of BiH, one thing is certain - decisions are not respected in either FBiH or RS.

On the list of institutions that ignore the Constitutional Court are lower courts, municipal and cantonal assemblies, cantonal and entity governments, the Council of Ministers of BiH, but also individuals.

If we look at the Constitution, decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH are final and binding. Those who do not respect them are, according to the law, punishable by imprisonment.

The Criminal Code is clear: „Whoever, by use of force or threat of force, attempts to secede a part of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina or to annex a part of its territory to another state, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of at least five years“.

An attack on the constitutional order prescribes a prison sentence of at least five years.