VSTV member from the Supreme Court of RS resigns; Dodik's threats and the inaction of the BiH Prosecutor's Office will drive others away?

(Patria) - The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council is facing the consequences of unconstitutional laws passed by the National Assembly of the RS. Despite the fact that the Constitutional Court of BiH has annulled them, after threats by Milorad Dodik to list Serbs in "unconstitutional institutions" and to consider the possibility of confiscating property from those personnel who continue to work in the Court, the Prosecutor's Office, and the HJPC, the first resignation has already been announced.

This concerns Council member Ljiljana Bošnjak Glizijan, who comes from the Supreme Court of the Republika Srpska and was appointed in September 2023. Her term was set to expire in 2027.

Of the 15 members of the HJPC, four come from the judicial institutions of the RS, and one member is a representative of the Bar Association of the RS.

Dodik also threatened to abolish courts and cut funding for those who respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and do not comply with the decisions of the National Assembly of the RS on unconstitutional institutions. He persistently claims that these positions belong to the RS, not to individuals.

Today, the Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska published the Rulebook on the procedure for candidacy and election of the first members of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of the RS.

The establishment of a Special Prosecutor's Office and Court has also been announced, which will prosecute all those who do not implement the decisions of the NSRS and the Law on Unconstitutional Institutions.

Given that Dodik's attack on the constitutional order has been ongoing since February 27, when the disputed laws were adopted, and their implementation began on March 6, personnel in these institutions who live in the RS entity are faced with complying with the law, as well as the consequences and threats issued by the authorities from the RS entity.

Some HJPC members have requested clarification from the RS authorities on whether they should leave their positions.

While there is still no such information in the BiH Prosecutor's Office, there is a problem in the BiH Court because judges from the RS do not want to hold hearings where there are presidents of the Council, while they participate in work where there are only judges.

All photographs and names of judges and prosecutors, as well as their biographies, have disappeared from the website of the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office.

Although the BiH Prosecutor's Office has opened a case regarding the attack on the constitutional order, to date Dodik, Nenad Stevandić, and Radovan Višković have not been arrested, and the threats continue, while the consequences that arise in state institutions will be difficult to remedy.