Balkans | Calling on Bosnian Serb leader Dodik to summon a Serbian judge in the Constitutional Court to submit his resignation

Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in BiH, said they would call on the Serbian judge serving in the Constitutional Court of BiH to resign.

Representatives of political parties in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) gathered in Banja Luka to sign a declaration on the long-controversial “immovable property”.

Dodik announced in his statement here that Republika Srpska officials signed a statement containing the action plan and the positions of Serbs working in institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding “immovable property.”

Stating that they will adopt the position that “immovable property” belongs to the Republika Srpska in the institutions, Dudik argued that the aforementioned declaration consists of 21 articles and that there is no violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Expressing that the National Association for Strategic Studies and Research will hold another session on April 26, Dodik said that they will call the Serbian judge of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to resign.

“Entities are not states and never will be states”

Bosnian member of the Presidency Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Besirovic, responded to the announcement signed in the NSRS on his social media account.

In his post, Pecerovic said:

“Those who encourage, participate or assist in planning and carrying out criminal acts should know that sooner or later they will bear criminal responsibility. Any act against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be punished in accordance with legal provisions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a state according to the provisions of international and national law. Entities are not states and never will be states. Milorad Dodik and his partners in the organizing group must stop their dangerous attempts to breach international and national law.”

The problem of immovable property in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Arguing that the immovable property belongs to the entities according to the Dayton Peace Treaty, which ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska claims that it also has property management under the said law.

While the issue of immovable property has been a topic that has been discussed since the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it has been debated whether immovable property in the country belongs to the state or the entities that use it.

While the immovable property law, which was voted on in December 2022 and is unconstitutional, is expected to enter into force on February 28, High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt announced that he has suspended the controversial law.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 2 also struck down the controversial law on possession of immovable property in Republika Srpska.

Previously, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the authority to manage public property belonged to the entity, and the right of ownership belonged to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the decision of the Constitutional Court, Dodik said that he would separate Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina if the issue regarding immovable property was not resolved.

AA