Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina annuls the Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem in the RS

(Patria) - The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina today, deciding on the request of BiH Presidency member Denis Bećirović, in case number U-2/25, rendered a decision adopting the applicant's request for the adoption of a provisional measure.

By the decision on the provisional measure, the Constitutional Court, among other things, temporarily annulled the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem ("Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska" number 4/25).

The decision enters into force immediately and produces legal effect from the date of entry into force of the said law, i.e., from 1 February 2025, until the final decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the submitted request.

In the explanation, among other things, it was stated:

"In the specific case, the Constitutional Court notes that the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem allows that, alongside the display of the coat of arms and flag of the RS as an entity and the performance of the RS anthem, coats of arms and flags of foreign states may be displayed and their anthems performed.

The application of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem implies that, on all public institutions in the RS, in addition to the symbols of the RS, symbols of foreign states may also be displayed.

The aforementioned implies the conclusion that the public authority in the RS may, in accordance with the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem, take concrete steps to place and display symbols of foreign states on all public institutions alongside the existing symbols of the RS entity.

Also, according to this law, symbols of foreign states may, in addition to the coat of arms of the RS, be used on seals and stamps used by the public authority in the RS, etc.

The Constitutional Court notes that regulations relating to the use of symbols represent one of the most important areas of regulation in every state because symbols are an expression of the sovereignty, identity and constitutional order of a particular state or its part, and they are simultaneously used in international relations.

The Constitutional Court, without prejudging the decision on the merits of this request for constitutional review, points out that enabling the display of symbols of foreign states may be interpreted as creating a legal framework that undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in one part of its territory, which may have long-term consequences for the constitutional order.

In such a situation, the display of symbols of foreign states alongside entity symbols, with or without the displayed symbols of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, may create an appearance of the absence of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this regard, the Constitutional Court emphasizes that Article 6 of the Preamble to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina expresses a commitment to 'sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with international law'.

The Constitutional Court, therefore, considers that there are valid doubts that the contested law could undermine the constitutional order and political stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at this stage is sufficient to establish the existence of a 'demonstrable claim' for the possibility of irreparable harmful consequences occurring as a condition for the Constitutional Court to adopt the request for a provisional measure.

The Constitutional Court considers that taking any actions based on the contested law even before deciding on the merits of this case may be perceived as an act of parallel foreign policy.

Consequently, harmful consequences may also occur in international relations if symbols of foreign states were displayed or used in the RS in public and on official documents, and that beyond what constitutes the official foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Furthermore, bearing in mind the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is indisputable that the issue of the use of symbols of foreign states by the RS entity represents a sensitive issue, which is why the application of such a law could potentially cause political tensions within BiH and further worsen relations between the entity and state institutions.

In these circumstances, the Constitutional Court concludes that there is urgency justifying the adoption of a provisional measure.

Finally, in the event that the Constitutional Court finds the contested Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem to be inconsistent with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the consequences of applying such a law would also require the removal of symbols of foreign states from public institutions in the RS, i.e., the removal of seals and stamps with symbols of foreign states on documents certified by the public authority of the RS, which would call into question the principle of legal certainty and the validity of such documents.

This would certainly, in the opinion of the Constitutional Court, cause harmful consequences also in international relations, which could be effectively avoided by temporarily annulling the newly adopted Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem.

Namely, the contested Law on Amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem entered into legal force recently, i.e., on 1 February 2025. Therefore, temporarily suspending its application would certainly cause less harm than removing the consequences of applying such a law in the event that the Constitutional Court adopts the request for constitutional review."