The Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina held its 76th ordinary session today.
In a substantial number of decisions, the Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time-limit. Therefore, the Constitutional Court reiterates the problem inherent in overall system which is a failure of taking decisions within a reasonable time-limit. Indeed, the courts and administrative authorities failed to take into account the standards that arose under Article II(3)(e) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 6(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to a sufficient extent. Consequently, this problem of the failure to take decisions within a reasonable time-limit is constantly present in the case-law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This results, amongst other issues, in a relatively substantial number of appeals lodged before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina with regards to the right to a fair trial in the part relating to the failure to adopt the decisions within reasonable time.
In addition, a great number of appeals was rejected by the Constitutional Court as inadmissible. A considerable number of those inadmissible cases hinders the work of the Constitutional Court in one of its basic tasks which is giving a subsidiary protection to those who really need it.
All decisions taken at the session are to be delivered to the appellants within one month time-limit and posted on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
