Today, on 30 September 2016, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina held its 100th Plenary Session, where it decided on a number of requests for the review of constitutionality and appeals on purported violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as on a number of planned internal documents.
For the sake of illustration, we single out the following:
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina established in its Ruling that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to enforce the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015.
Accordingly, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina established that the provision of Article 3(b) of the Law on Holidays of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, no. 43/07) shall be rendered ineffective on the first day following the date of the publication of this Ruling in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pursuant to Article 72(6) of the Rules of the Constitutional of Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this Ruling shall be transmitted to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and shall be published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska and the Official Gazette of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Namely, among other things, the Constitutional Court noted that the time limit for the enforcement of the Decision no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015 by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska has ended on 25 June 2016. The Constitutional Court noted that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to undertake concrete measures aimed at enforcing the Decision on Admissibility and Merits no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015, that is
to say that the activities of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to result in the measures that would in the end lead to the harmonization of Article 3(b) of the Law on Holidays of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, no. 43/07) with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as ordered in the decision of the Constitutional Court at issue.
In addition, the Constitutional Court observed that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska filed on 17 June 2016 a request for the review of the Decision of the Constitutional Court no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015, which the Constitutional Court decided at its Plenary Session held on 17 September 2016. The Constitutional Court concluded that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to present in its request for review any new facts, in terms of Article 68(1) of the Rules of the Constitutional Court, which may have resulted in a different decision of the Constitutional Court in the case in question. Therefore, the Constitutional Court concluded that there were no justified reasons for granting the request for the review of the Decision of the Constitutional Court no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015. Thus that request was dismissed.
Having in mind the aforesaid, as well as based on the inspection of the decisions of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska published in the Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, the Constitutional Court concluded that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to harmonize within the given time limit Article 3(b) of the Law on Holidays of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, no. 43/07) with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Constitutional Court recalls that, in its Decision no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015, it has determined the manner and the time limit for the enforcement of the decision. Pursuant to Article VI(5) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Constitutional Court shall be final and binding. Also, pursuant to Article 72(1) of the Rules of the Constitutional Court, every physical and legal person shall be obligated to comply with the final and binding decisions of the Constitutional Court, while, pursuant to paragraph 2 of the same Article, all authorities shall be obligated to enforce the decisions of the Constitutional Court within the scope of their competence as established by the Constitution and law.
Also, the Constitutional Court recalls that, in accordance with Article 61 paragraphs 4 through to 6 of the Rules of the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court may, by its decision finding the incompatibility of the provisions of law with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, determine a time limit for harmonization, which may not exceed six months. If the established incompatibility is not redressed within the given time limit, the Constitutional Court will, by its decision, establish that the incompatible provisions of law shall be rendered ineffective on the first day following the date of the publication of the decision in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Considering that the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska failed to enforce the final and binding Decision of the Constitutional Court no. U 3/13 of 26 November 2015 within the given time limit, the Constitutional Court, having regard to Article 57 (3), Article 61 (5) and (6) and Article 72(6) of the Rules of the Constitutional Court, decided as stated above.
All decisions on appeals that are adopted at the session will be communicated to the appellants within one month and published on the website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the same session the Constitutional Court considered and adopted the Mid-Term Activity Plan of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period from 2017 to 2019, the Work Plan of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2017 and the Budget of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2017.
