Due to the exceptional interest of the public, the Constitutional Court hereby issues the following
FIRST PART OF PRESS RELEASE
concerning an abstract review of constitutionality in the cases it has decided in the course of the 146th Plenary Session so far, while it will inform the public tomorrow, on 12 July 2024, about the decisions that are adopted later during the session.
In the course of the 146th Plenary Session so far, the Constitutional Court has adopted the decisions as follows:
U 3/24 – Having deliberated on the request filed by Kemal Ademović, Chair of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time of filing the request, for review of constitutionality of the Decision on Changing the Purpose of Forestland and Temporary Use of Forestland for Other Purposes of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of FBiH, 89/23 and 100/23; “the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”), the Constitutional Court established that the contested decision is not compatible with Articles I(1), I(2) and VI(5) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established that the contested decision is null and void and that it shall cease to have effect on the day of the publication thereof in the Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitutional Court ordered the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry to undertake all steps to quash all decisions and activities based on the contested decision.
U 6/24 – Having deliberated on the request filed by 13 Members of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for review of constitutionality of the Decision on the Method and Conditions of the Sale of Real Property owned by the Republika Srpska located within the Special Area of Jahorina, by public bidding (Official Gazette of the RS, 114/23), the Constitutional Court established that the contested decision is not compatible with the provisions of Article I(1), I(2) and VI(5) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was also established that the contested decision is null and void and that it shall cease to have effect on the day of the publication thereof in the Official Gazette of RS. The Government of the Republika Srpska (“the RS Government”) and the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the Republika Srpska are ordered to take all steps necessary to quash all decisions and activities taken based on the contested decision. The Constitutional Court points out that the RS Government disposed of State property, which is under regime of temporary prohibition and falls under the exclusive competence of the institutions of BiH.
These decisions will be served on the applicants within a period of one month and published on the website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible.
SUMMARY OF THE DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT NO. U-3/24 AND U-6/24
In its decision number U-3/24, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina established that the Decision on Changing the Purpose of Forestland and Temporary Use of Forestland for Other Purposes of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not consistent with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitutional Court reached the same conclusion in its decision number U-6/24, which pertains to the Decision of the Government of the Republika Srpska on the Method and Conditions of the Sale of Real Property owned by the Republika Srpska located within the Special Area of Jahorina, by public bidding. In both decisions, the Constitutional Court held that at issue is the forestland that constitutes the state property that is under the regime of temporary prohibition of disposal, as the Constitutional Court determined in its previous decisions related to the same matter. It was, therefore, concluded that the Federation Government and the Republika Srpska Government did not have the jurisdiction to dispose of the referenced state property in any way by their decisions. The Constitutional Court recalls that the Law on Temporary Prohibition of Disposal of State Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina sets forth that the temporary prohibition on the disposal of State Property “shall be in force until entry into force of State-level legislation regulating the rights of ownership and management of State Property, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or until the High Representative decides otherwise”. The respective Laws on Temporary Prohibition of Disposal of State Property of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the Republika Srpska and of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also contain a similar provision. The fact that the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet passed a law regulating the right to own and manage state property, cannot be a justification to the Entities’ Governments to illegally dispose of that property.
