TRUNCATED CONSTITUTIONAL COURT MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO CONSTITUTION

SARAJEVO, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA/ - Lawyer Ognjen Tadić stated that, by their decision on the appeals filed by President Milorad Dodik, the members of the truncated Constitutional Court of BiH missed an important opportunity to come to their senses, that is, to return to the state and the Constitution they are obliged to uphold, adding that the legal battle will be internationalized through the continuation of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights.

"When, in any country, a constitutional court adopts a decision refusing to protect constitutionally guaranteed human rights and freedoms from a foreigner who threatens them, a person who, without any legal mandate, has enacted laws under which citizens of that country are criminally punished merely for not obeying him, it becomes clear that such a constitutional court is acting unconstitutionally and undermining all principles of the rule of law", Tadić told SRNA. He added that the situation is even worse when the case involves a penalty being imposed on the democratically elected President of the Republic for respecting the Constitution rather than obeying the orders of an illegal foreigner. "It is completely clear that the Constitutional Court of BiH is in dire need of reform, a reform that should make it what the Constitution of BiH actually intends: an institution that upholds the Constitution of BiH, rather than serving as a fig leaf for Christian Schmidt and as an instrument for those undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement", Tadić emphasized. Noting that the case will continue before the European Court of Human Rights, Tadić concluded that this fully internationalizes the issue of the attempted usurpation of the High Representative’s authority by Christian Schmidt, as well as all previous violations of the human and civil rights of BiH citizens committed by foreigners. The truncated Constitutional Court of BiH dismissed the appeal filed by President Milorad Dodik’s defense against the ruling of the BiH Court and the decision of the CEC.