On 12 February 2025, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, having deliberated on the request submitted by Denis Bećirović, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in case no. U-2/25, adopted a decision granting the applicant’s request for an interim measure.
Under the Decision, the Constitutional Court, inter alia, temporarily suspended the Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, 4/25). This decision shall come into force immediately and shall produce legal effects as of the date the referenced Law came into effect, that is, as of 1 February 2025, pending a final decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the submitted request.
In the reasons, the Constitutional Court points out, inter alia:
In this present case, the Constitutional Court notes that the Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem provides that in addition to displaying the coat of arms and flag of the RS, as Entity, and performing the anthem of the RS, the coats of arms and flags of foreign countries may be displayed and the anthems of foreign countries may be performed. The application of the Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem implies that, in addition to the symbols of the RS, symbols of foreign states may also be displayed in all public institutions of the RS. The above implies the conclusion that the public authorities in the RS may, in accordance with the Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem, take concrete steps to place and display symbols of foreign states in all public institutions alongside the existing symbols of the RS. Moreover, according to this law, symbols of foreign states, in addition to the coat of arms of the RS, may also be used on seals and stamps used by public authorities in the RS, etc.
The Constitutional Court observes that the legislation pertaining to the use of symbols represents one of the most important areas of regulation in any country, as symbols are an expression of sovereignty, identity and constitutional order of a state or part thereof, and they are also used in international relations.
The Constitutional Court, without prejudice to the decision on the merits of the request for review of constitutionality, notes that allowing display of symbols of foreign countries can be interpreted as creation of a legal framework that undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in one part of its territory, which may have long-term consequences on the constitutional order. In such a situation, display of symbols of foreign states next to symbols of an Entity, with or without displaying symbols of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, may create an appearance of non-existence of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina In this regard, the Constitutional Court emphasizes that Article 6 of the Preamble of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina expresses commitment to "[...] the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with international law [...]".The Constitutional Court, therefore, considers that there are justified reasons to doubt that the disputed law may undermine the constitutional order and political stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, at this stage, is sufficient to find existence of an "arguable claim" for the possibility of occurrence of irremediable detrimental consequences as a precondition for the Constitutional Court to grant the request for an interim measure.
The Constitutional Court considers that taking any action on the basis of the disputed law prior to taking a decision on the merits of this case may be perceived as an act of parallel foreign policy. As a result, detrimental consequences in international relations are also possible if symbols of foreign states would be displayed or used in the RS in public and on official documents, exceeding the official foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, in view of the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is beyond dispute that the issue of use of symbols of foreign states by the RS Entity is a sensitive issue, that being the reason why the application of the law in question could potentially cause political tension within BiH and additionally exacerbate the relations between the Entities and State institutions. Under these circumstances, the Constitutional Court concludes that there is urgency justifying the adoption of the interim measure.
Finally, in the event that the Constitutional Court finds that the disputed Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem is inconsistent with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the consequences of the application of such a Law would require the removal of symbols of other states from public institutions in the RS, or the removal of seals and stamps with symbols of foreign states on documents certified by the public authorities of the RS. In In the opinion of the Constitutional Court, this would certainly cause major complications that could be effectively avoided by temporarily suspending the newly adopted Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem. Namely, the challenged Law Amending the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem entered into force recently, i.e. on 1 February 2025. Therefore, suspending its application temporarily would certainly cause less damage than eliminating the consequences of the application of such a law in the event that the Constitutional Court grants the request for a review of constitutionality.
