CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF BiH WILL LOSE CASE BEFORE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA/ - The Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, believes that after dismissing Milorad Dodik’s defense appeal today, the Constitutional Court of BiH will lose the case before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

"The judges in the truncated Constitutional Court of BiH are fully aware that they will lose this case before the European Court of Human Rights, but they lacked the conscience and responsibility to admit that Christian Schmidt cannot enact laws," Stevandić told reporters in Banja Luka on Tuesday evening. Stevandić said that part of the Constitutional Court of BiH's decision supports his claim, as it concluded that the disputed decisions in this case did not concern the appellant's civil rights and obligations, nor the criminal charges under the European Convention, and therefore the guarantees of the Constitution of BiH and the European Convention do not apply to the proceedings conducted before the Central Election Commission /CEC/ and the BiH Court. He asked whether, once this case is concluded at the European Court of Human Rights, the seven judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH will resign or face disciplinary proceedings, as well as all those who claimed that Christian Schmidt is a legislator, or whether this will lead to the resignation of everyone involved in this legal matter. Stevandić said that Dodik's defense also wanted this issue to be addressed at the European Court of Human Rights. "This is like a tollgate, where domestic and foreign institutions have been given a partial chance to save BiH from yet another major disgrace and further escalation. The Constitutional Court of BiH did not dare to do it, but their ruling is not final," Stevandić emphasized. Commenting on the decision of the BiH Prosecutor's Office to suspend the investigation against Republika Srpska officials after determining that there was insufficient evidence that they committed the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order, Stevandić said he knew the investigation against him would be dropped because the constitutional provisions on immunity were clear. "In my view, the most important thing at this time is that the complete sublimation of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska has been demonstrated. Everyone acknowledged it, from the OHR, the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office, to the U.S. administration," Stevandić emphasized. Stevandić added that the mere acknowledgment that the National Assembly must decide on the matter is, in itself, an admission by all of them, including the U.S. administration, that the most significant decisions are made by the Republika Srpska Parliament.