Constitutional Court of BiH to convene without judges from RS, appeal concerning RS Criminal Code to be considered!

(Patria) - President of the Constitutional Court of BiH Valerija Galić has scheduled a plenary session of this judicial institution for Thursday, which will not include any judges from the RS entity, as Zlatko Knežević retired early at the beginning of the year.

At an extraordinary session on June 19 last year, the Constitutional Court of BiH amended its rules, allowing it to function without judges from the smaller BiH entity, after the local legislative authorities began to drag out the process of appointing judges, in another attempt to block the Constitutional Court.

Miodrag Simović's mandate expired in November 2022, and the only remaining judge from the RS, Zlatko Knežević, officially retired early at his own request at the beginning of this year. Since January 3, the Constitutional Court of BiH has been left with four judges from the FBiH, as well as foreign judges appointed by the European Court of Human Rights.

At the plenary session, the Constitutional Court of BiH is expected to consider, among other things, Denis Bećirović's request for an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 8 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska. This is a request for a temporary measure by which the Constitutional Court would suspend the application of this article until a final decision is made by the court on the request for an assessment of constitutionality. This case has been merged with the request of 14 deputies of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for an assessment of the constitutionality of other provisions of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska.

At the end of August last year, Bećirović, as a proposer authorized by the constitution, submitted a request to the Constitutional Court of BiH for an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 8 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, which actually refers to a new criminal offense against honor and reputation.

"As an authorized submitter, I have sent a request to the Constitutional Court of BiH for an assessment of the constitutionality of the amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, which criminalize defamation. Such a law would have negative consequences for freedom of speech throughout BiH, and would particularly hinder the work of the media," Bećirović announced after submitting the appeal. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska on July 20 last year, introducing criminal offenses against honor and reputation – defamation, disclosure of personal and family circumstances, and public ridicule.

Also on the agenda for the January 18 session is the request by Bakir Izetbegović, who was the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH at the time of submitting the request, for an assessment of the constitutionality of the provisions of the Rulebook on Uniforms of the Armed Forces of BiH. The Constitutional Court is also expected to consider Darko Popović's request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska of October 25, 2023, and the decision of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Banja Luka of November 26, 2022.