SELAK: BiH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SHOULD REJECT REQUEST TO ASSESS CONSTITUTIONALITY OF GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 12 /SRNA/ - The Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska Goran Selak expects that the Constitutional Court of BiH will reject the request to assess the constitutionality of the Government of Republika Srpska, given that it and its prime minister-designate, and later the prime minister, were legally elected.

"Any other decision would represent the final collapse of the Constitutional Court of BiH," Selak stated. He expects that the Constitutional Court of BiH will reject the request to assess the constitutionality of the Government of Republika Srpska, for obvious reasons related to previous practice and lack of jurisdiction. "The first reason is that the Constitutional Court of BiH does not have, nor has it had in previous practice, the authority to decide on the election of entity governments. This is the exclusive jurisdiction of the entity's constitutional courts, in this case, the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska. The Constitutional Court of BiH has confirmed in its earlier decisions that the Constitution of Republika Srpska is in compliance with the Constitution of BiH," Selak stated. He stated that the second reason for rejecting the request, as inadmissible, concerns the very basis on which the request is founded, the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska said. "The request refers to the criminal conviction of Milorad Dodik, the then President of Republika Srpska, and the alleged lack of the right to appoint a prime minister. However, the issue of executing criminal sentences, their legal consequences, and any potential effects in the legal system is not within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, but is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the regular courts, specifically, the court that issued the final verdict, as well as a court responsible for enforcement," Selak explained. According to him, it also concerns the legal issue of the distinction between the finality and enforceability of a criminal verdict, which the request itself avoids mentioning, making this an additional reason for its inadmissibility. "The Government of Republika Srpska was legally elected. The prime minister-designate, and later the prime minister, was legally appointed and elected. Therefore, the only expectation is that the Constitutional Court will rule the request inadmissible and, if necessary, refer the applicant to the competent court, which is the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska," Selak emphasized.