DODIK: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF BiH CAN RESTORE ITS DIGNITY ONLY BY RESPECTING CONSTITUTION

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA/ – President Milorad Dodik stated that the Constitutional Court of BiH will turn into a political, inquisitorial court if it adopts a decision contrary to the Constitution regarding his appeal against the verdict of the Court of BiH.

Dodik said that the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH have been political from the very beginning, and that the judges intend to continue that way, as they cannot escape what he called a "Sarajevo framework". "If they do not respect the Constitution and make a decision contrary to it, that will mean the burial of the Constitutional Court of BiH. They would turn it into a political court, which would effectively mean an inquisitorial one, and would make no sense," Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka. He emphasized that the Constitutional Court of BiH can regain its dignity only by respecting the Constitution, noting that it does not have to respect him personally. "We will not give up fighting for our status. I don't believe the Constitutional Court of BiH can escape that political `Sarajevo framework`. According to our information, there is complete nervousness in Sarajevo, everyone is trying to exert pressure, and they will likely influence those people," Dodik said, adding that this is why it is justified to resist such political institutions. If the matter were handled according to the law and the Constitution, Dodik said, it would have been resolved with a simple decision. "You don't need to be an expert. The Constitutional Court of BiH itself has previously stated that the legislative, executive, and judicial authorities at the BiH level cannot make decisions contrary to the constitutions of Republika Srpska, the Federation of BiH, or BiH," Dodik said. If the Constitutional Court considers that a decision made by an unnamed foreigner can be interpreted as a law, Dodik said, then the Constitution means nothing and the country is not constitutional, but rather a mafia-style system where certain people decide based on merits other than constitutional ones. "The Constitution of Srpska mandates the president to sign decrees, and that cannot be rendered null and void by a court decision," Dodik stressed. He pointed out that the entire procedure was flawed from the start. Dodik asked how it is possible that, if the Constitution of BiH clearly defines that only the Parliamentary Assembly can adopt laws, and the Constitutional Court simply bypasses that rule, and what kind of court that is, and whom it serves? "Since we believe there is no justice at the BiH level, we only wanted to finalize this process within BiH institutions so that we could then appeal to international judicial bodies," Dodik said. He emphasized that the case will move forward but that it will remain unclear why the judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH are making decisions outside of the Constitution. "If the Constitution states that laws at the BiH level are exclusively adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and by no one else, how can anyone explain what has been done?" Dodik said.