The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina assessed that the amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina imposed by the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023 are in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Constitutional Court ruled on the appeal of 32 representatives of the SNSD in the National Assembly of the RS who requested an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 203a. of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 4 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They contested the changes then imposed by Christian Schmidt, which refer to the non-implementation of the High Representative’s decisions being a criminal offence.
– The disputed Article 203a was added to the disputed Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina which incriminates behavior in which “an official in an institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or in a canton, city or municipality or local community or any body of local administration and self-government, or a responsible person who does not apply, does not implement, does not execute or otherwise does not respect the decision of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, or who prevents or otherwise obstructs the application, implementation or execution of such a decision”.
The controversial Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina was imposed by the High Representative with Decision No. 13/23 of July 1, 2023.
The Constitutional Court found that Article 203a. of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 4 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with Article I/2. of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 7 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms because the disputed provisions are available, specific and predictable, and the prescribed criminal protection is aimed at legitimate legal values related to the preservation of the rule of law and the functioning of the legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina – it was announced after the end of the two-day session of the Constitutional Court of BiH, it says Factor.
