Croat Presidency member: Lower levels of govt. can't question State institutions

AFP

No lower level of government can question Bosnia's State institutions, Bosnia's tripartite Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic said after the Republika Srpska (RS) entity leaders said they would boycott the country's decision-making process because they did not like the Constitutional Court's decisions regarding several RS laws.

“The rule of law is a fundamental part of the European civilisation. No lower-level of government can question Bosnia's institutions,” Komsic said responding to his Serb colleague's announcement that Republika Srpska (RS) entity's parliament will ask all Serb judges in the State Constitutional Court to leave this institution. If not, the RS parliament will pass a decision to pull them out from this Court, as this is the institution that proposes judges from this part of the country to serve at the State Court.

Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two semi-autonomous entities – the Bosniak, Croat shared Federation (FBiH) and the Serb dominated Republika Srpska (RS), each with its own competencies and parliaments. Representatives from each of the two entities make up the State parliament called the Council of Ministers.

Komsic said that announcements of denial of Court decisions would be considered an act of rebellion and placing oneself above the law anywhere else in the world.

“The more state institutions are questioned, the more we'll defend them. Any Unconstitutional action is unacceptable and no yelling and cursing will change the decisions made by Bosnia's state institutions and the Constitutional Court,” Croat Presidency member said.

The Constitutional Court declared Article 53 of the RS Law on Agricultural Land, as well as Artiles 3 and 4 of the RS Law on Inland Navigation as unconstitutional.

Following the Court's decisions, RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic, Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik, RS Parliament Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic, RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, Bosnia's prime minister Zoran Tegeltija, President of the RS Constitutional Court Dzerard Selman and RS representatives in Bosnia's state institutions held a meeting at which they concluded they would not take part in the decision-making processes of the State. This means they would attend the sessions, but not take any part in them, thus making the adoption of any decision impossible.

RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic added that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina “deeply encroaches into the RS’ identity and territorial issues.”