BASIS EXIST FOR DODIK APPEAL TO BE ACCEPTED BEFORE STRASBOURG COURT

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 21 /SRNA/ – Legal representative of Republika Srpska Lazar Stjepanović believes there are grounds for the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to uphold the announced appeal by the defense of SNSD President Milorad Dodik against the verdict of the Court of BiH.

Stjepanović says it is clear that articles of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated in the proceedings in which Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political activity for six years for "disrespecting the decisions of Christian Schmidt," stressing that the criminal offense must have existed at the time it was allegedly committed. "There are elements for the court to uphold the application, after which attention is drawn to the state, in this case BiH, to amend its criminal legislation and remove the criminal offense under which the verdict was rendered," Stjepanović said. He claims that a factor that should influence the judges lies in the fact that Schmidt was not legally appointed as High Representative in BiH. Stjepanović explained that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg cannot enter into the merits of the verdict handed down against Dodik, nor determine whether he committed the criminal offense for which he was convicted, but can, based on evidence, assess whether any of the rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms were violated. "The judges will first examine the procedural requirements, namely whether they have been met for the application to be considered at all, and whether all legal remedies in BiH have been exhausted. There are no precise deadlines within which they must decide on the request," Stjepanović stated for Glas Srpske. He added that the court may treat the case as a priority if it deems it urgent, while otherwise the process could last longer than a year or two. Stjepanović believes that, given that this is a political process which has attracted significant public interest, the judges could reach a decision on the application more quickly. An appeal by Dodik's defense against the verdict of the Court of BiH is expected to be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the coming days.