The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina today declared unconstitutional the Day of the Republic of Srpska, which is celebrated on January 9, when the Orthodox defeated Saint Stefan.
Judge of the BiH Constitutional Court, Suada Paravlić, told reporters that the Constitutional Court accepted the appeal of the Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, Bakir Izetbegović, and declared certain provisions of the Law on Holidays of Republika Srpska unconstitutional.
"The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not challenge the right of Republika Srpska to celebrate Republic Day, but it cannot be January 9. The reason why it cannot be January 9 is precisely the reason why that date was designated as Republic Day, because the court assessed that that date is not acceptable for all citizens of Republika Srpska, i.e. that not all citizens perceive it as Republic Day," said Palavrić.
Such a decision was made by overvoting.
Three foreign judges and two Bosniak judges voted for the decision, while three judges, two Serbs and one Croat, were against the decision. The second Croatian judge was not present at the vote due to illness.
According to the decision of the Court of BiH, the National Assembly of the RS should harmonize the disputed article of the Law on Holidays of the RS with the Constitution of BiH within six months.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasized that this decision in no way calls into question the right of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Orthodox faith, as well as the similar right of citizens of any other religious community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to freely celebrate their holidays in a traditional or other convenient way. , including the glory of St. Stephen.
According to the opinion of the Constitutional Court, such freedoms and rights, and especially their free manifestation, only confirm the multi-confessional and multicultural character of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and society.
"Therefore, such a decision of the Constitutional Court in that context cannot be understood in any other way," the announcement states.
RS President Milorad Dodik told "Nezavisne novine" that Republika Srpska stands by its holiday and that no court can challenge it.
He assessed that all the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina were "harmful to the vital interests of the RS, from the constitution of the people to the coat of arms".
"When you put everything together, you see that it was in the matrix that brought together two foreigners and two Bosniaks, who voted for everything that was against the RS. Today, it went too far, and, in any case, the RS remains with its holiday, which no court can dispute," said Dodik.
He assessed that the Constitutional Court of BiH is a "Muslim court against the Serbs", and announced that the RS will react energetically in the coming days.
"I will call on all relevant factors in the RS to take active, coordinated and unified action," said Dodik.
Lawyer Mile Dmičić, who was a member of the RS delegation that defended Republic Day before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, assessed that the decision of this court was exclusively political, not legal in nature.
He assessed that through overvoting and majority voting, they are trying to violate the constitutional status of the RS guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement.
"The RS, through the highest constitutional bodies, will have to consider the views from the decisions of the Constitutional Court and determine primarily that it cannot abolish Republic Day, which is its secular, not religious holiday," said Dmičić.
According to him, Republic Day as a date of statehood was verified by the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Venice Commission.
Bonus video:
