Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska — the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina — has issued a defiant response to his conviction, warning of “retaliation” following the final court decision sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from political activity for six years.
“The people of Republika Srpska must remain calm and mobilize with our institutions. No one can overturn the will of the citizens. Republika Srpska has the strength to fight back through political steps, because failing to do so exposes us to even greater dangers,” Dodik wrote on social media platform X on August 3.
He did not clarify what specific political actions he intends to take.
Conviction and Charges
On August 1, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Dodik for refusing to comply with decisions made by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), Christian Schmidt. The court found Dodik guilty of signing decrees that effectively enacted laws previously annulled by the High Representative.
These laws aimed to prevent the implementation of decisions by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court and the OHR within the territory of Republika Srpska — an act that the judiciary has deemed illegal and unconstitutional.
Defiance and “Political” Response
Dodik has rejected the legitimacy of the charges, stating:
“All our decisions will be political. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has disqualified itself as a legal body.”
He also announced that there would be no early elections in Republika Srpska, despite the legal implications of his conviction.
In the days following the verdict, Dodik presented newly adopted decisions by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, claiming they lay out a “concrete plan for the path ahead,” but without providing details.
Legal Appeals and Consequences
Dodik’s lawyer, Goran Bubić, stated at a press conference on Friday that they will appeal the verdict to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We will request a temporary suspension of the decision until the Constitutional Court rules, which is a necessary step before taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights,” Bubić explained.
Once formally notified of the final verdict, Dodik must comply with the summons to begin serving his prison sentence. Following that, Bosnia’s Central Election Commission is expected to act on terminating his mandate as president of Republika Srpska.
Under Bosnia’s Election Law, a mandate ends on the date when a final court verdict sentences an elected official to six or more months of imprisonment.
