The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will issue a verdict today, February 26, for the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and the Acting Director of the Official Gazette of the entity, Miloš Ljukić, who are accused of disregarding the decisions of the High Representative of the international community, Christian Schmidt.
After a legal process lasting more than a year, the Bosnian court will announce the first-instance ruling, which both the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and the defense will have the right to appeal.
Dodik is accused of signing presidential decrees, which validated two unconstitutional laws of Republika Srpska that had previously been annulled by the High Representative.
The laws in question relate to the non-implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-implementation of the decisions of the High Representative in the territory of Republika Srpska. Ljukić is accused of publishing these laws and decrees in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska.
The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates a prison sentence of six months to five years for not complying with the decisions of the High Representative, as well as the possibility of dismissal from office and a ban on political activity.
In the closing argument on February 19, the Bosnian Prosecutor’s Office requested the Court to impose a five-year prison sentence on Dodik and to ban him from political activity for ten years. The same maximum sentence was also requested for Ljukić, according to REL reports.
In his closing statement, Dodik said, “We all must fight for Bosnia and Herzegovina not to be a protectorate anymore, but to restore its sovereignty,” reiterating the old claims that Schmidt lacks legitimacy, as his appointment was not confirmed by the UN Security Council, as had been the case with previous High Representatives.
