DELAY IN COURT'S RULING LINKED TO DODIK'S POSSIBLE ELECTION CANDIDACY

BELGRADE, JUNE14 /SRNA/ – The delay by the Constitutional Court of BiH in ruling on the constitutionality of Christian Schmidt’s interventions in the Criminal Code of BiH is linked to the possible candidacy of SNSD leader Milorad Dodik in the upcoming elections, said Aleksa Nikolić, an assistant lecturer in Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade.

Nikolić stated that there are serious legal arguments suggesting that a ban on running for the office of Republika Srpska President cannot automatically be extended to all positions, and that this issue will likely remain the subject of legal disputes. “I see the issues of Mr. Dodik’s candidacy and the constitutionality of Schmidt’s decisions, as well as the legitimacy of the institutions deciding on them, as interconnected matters,” Nikolić told SRNA. He also pointed out that it is significant that the Constitutional Court of BiH has for an extended period operated without two judges who, under the Constitution, are appointed by the Republika Srpska National Assembly, which further raises questions regarding the Court’s institutional legitimacy and legality in such sensitive cases. In December last year, the SNSD caucus in the Republika Srpska National Assembly submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Court of BiH seeking a review of the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Criminal Code of BiH imposed by Christian Schmidt, but the Court has yet to issue a ruling on the matter.