The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, submitted today to the Constitutional Court of BiH a request for constitutional review of amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska, which criminalize and prohibit the symbols of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- The amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska, which criminalize the public display and promotion of flags and symbols of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, represent another attack on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as basic human rights and freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights – the press release states.
The Republika Srpska entity does not have the constitutional authority to use its criminal code to encroach on the flag and symbols of state bodies, including possibly banning them. Only the competent authorities of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina can regulate this issue. This is not affected by the fact that some state symbols or symbols of its organs have ceased to be valid.
Regardless of the above, no institution has ever banned the flag or symbols of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, neither according to international law nor according to national law. On the contrary, they were adopted in a constitutional and legal manner by the internationally recognized Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its bodies. Their constitutionality and legality enjoy continuity on the basis of today’s Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- It is important to recall the constitutional values of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms, which obligates both society and the state to respect the principles of the rule of law, political tolerance and freedom of political expression – the Cabinet of the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, announced.
