The final court ruling against Milorad Dodik, combined with the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, clearly states that he must cease serving as President of Republika Srpska.
The authority to enforce this decision lies partly with the Central Election Commission (CEC) and partly with the security agencies and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The next legal step following Dodik’s verdict is in the hands of the CEC, which has 15 days from receiving the final ruling to strip Dodik of his mandate. After that, they must call early elections within 90 days.
To remove his mandate, the Office of the RS President must be formally notified, but the CEC’s decision does not guarantee Dodik will step down. He has previously violated state laws and acted unilaterally — the very reasons he was sentenced in the first place, reports klix.ba.
If Dodik violates the ban, which prohibits him from serving as RS President, the Court has the right to impose a prison sentence equal to the remaining length of the ban. This means if he refuses to immediately vacate the office, he could face up to six years in prison.
Additionally, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina can issue an order for security agencies to detain him. However, a similar order was issued in the past, and everyone knows that Dodik never ended up in prison — the warrant was canceled.
In case of a violation, the Court would likely instruct the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) to arrest Dodik. SIPA has the right to delegate this to a lower level — in this case, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS (MUP RS).
It’s obvious that the RS Interior Ministry will not arrest Dodik, so the question remains whether SIPA will again claim it cannot carry out the detention, just like when an Interpol red notice was issued against him but never enforced.
If the police and security agencies refuse to comply with the Court’s order, it would represent a major blow to Bosnia’s judicial institutions, as rulings are meaningless if they cannot be enforced.
