Supreme Court of RS rules: RTRs obliged to transfer part of RTV tax funds to BHRT

(Patria) - Following the Decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH from March this year, which confirmed that BHRT is entitled to its legal share of the RTV tax collected in the RS entity, the Supreme Court of RS has issued rulings in two court proceedings in favor of BHRT.

This concerns a multi-year dispute between the two public broadcasters regarding the distribution of funds from the RTV tax, the total debt of which to BHRT now exceeds 100 million convertible marks.

In the specific cases, BHRT sued RTRs for a debt exceeding 10 million KM.

The court accepted BHRT's arguments, confirming that according to the Law on the Public Radio-Television System, BHRT is entitled to 50 percent of the total collected RTV tax, after deducting collection operational costs.

The Supreme Court of RS unequivocally established that RTRs did not have the legal right to retain all collected funds, nor to unilaterally condition the payment to BHRT by forming a Public RTV Service Corporation.

It was also ordered that court proceedings before lower courts in Banja Luka be repeated, with the obligation to consistently apply the legal positions from the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

These decisions confirm BHRT's long-standing claims of unlawful conduct by RTRs, which has directly jeopardized the functioning of the public RTV service of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"These court decisions represent a significant step towards establishing a lawful and fair distribution of the RTV tax, and strengthening the integrity of the public radio-television system of BiH," stated BHRT.

The public service of BiH has been in a difficult financial situation for a long time, precisely due to unpaid funds that legally belonged to BHRT.

The total debt of RTRs to BHRT on this basis currently amounts to approximately 100 million KM.

It is expected that the renewed proceedings before lower courts will lead to the concrete application of the law and decisions of the highest judicial institutions in BiH.

This would finally ensure legality, equality, and sustainability of the public RTV system, in the interest of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.