On 23 September 2021, the Constitutional Court held its 123rd plenary session in Mostar. At the session, the Constitutional Court considered requests for review of constitutionality and appeals.
On 24 September 2021, the Constitutional Court held a press conference at the Town Hall in Mostar.
The 123rd plenary session and press conference in Mostar is a continuation of the cooperation between the Constitutional Court and AIRE Centre, which was agreed at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Highest Courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Judicial Forum for BiH. The Judicial Forum held in May 2021 was dedicated to the subject Publicity and Transparency of the Judicial System – European Standards and Practice in BiH. The participants at the conference concluded that the judicial institutions should advance transparency and that the Constitutional Court occasionally would hold sessions and organize press conferences in the local communities in order to bring its work closer to the citizens throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Of decisions it adopted today, for illustration, the Constitutional Court has singled out the following:
U 4/21 – In deciding the request filed by the seven delegates of the Council of Peoples of the Republika Srpska for review of constitutionality of the Law on Forests of the Republika Srpska, the Constitutional Court found that the contested provisions in the part reading “owned by the Republic” were not in conformity with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the issues related to determining the ownership status of state property, as well as the competence in this regard between the State and the Entity bodies, should be regulated by a law that will be passed at the State level, and these issues fell within the exclusive competence of the State of BiH according to the mentioned provisions of the Constitution.
U 7/21 – In deciding the request of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo for the review of compatibility of the Law on Salaries and Other Compensations of Judges and Prosecutors in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitutional Court found that was not compatible with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as it did not contain the provisions related to the compensation for on-call duty/standby.
U 8/21 – In deciding on the request of Mr. Zoran Tegeltija, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for resolving a dispute between the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation Ministry of Interior in the case of acquiring citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, initiated upon an application filed by A.G., a citizen of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Constitutional Court established that he Ruling of the Federation Ministry of Interior was in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and remained in force. The Constitutional Court concluded that the Federation Ministry, as an Entity body, had not acted arbitrarily in the procedure of deciding on the application for citizenship of BiH/FBiH where it had refused the application filed by A.G. from the Arab Republic of Egypt. It found so as it assessed based on the established facts that the Federation Ministry was correct in deciding that A.G., as the person applying for citizenship of BiH/FBiH, did not meet the requirements prescribed for acquiring citizenship by facilitated naturalization and that that posed a threat to the security of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purposes of the relevant provisions.
All decisions adopted at today’s plenary session will be delivered to the applicants/appellants within one month and published at the earliest possible date on the website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
