On Monday, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) started probably the most sensitive court process since the establishment of that judicial institution. The President of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik, together with the second defendant, Milos Lukic, acting director of the Official Gazette of RS, appeared before the court at the very beginning of the trial in which the indictment accuses them of disobeying the decisions of the High Representative of the International Community in our country. After their statement that they did not understand the indictment, Judge Jasmina Dedovic Cosic stated that they declared they were not guilty. This trial also has highly emphasized political supporting elements, as Dodik’s defense claims that it is a politically staged process, so lawyers believe that the court panel, which will be presided over by Judge Mirsad Strika, will face a whole series of serious legal and other challenges. No one in legal circles wants to talk about the political and legal consequences of the future verdict. A legal expert from Sarajevo, attorney Asim Crnalic, spoke about these serious dilemmas in an interview.
Interview question: “The trial against Milorad Dodik, which was long announced and long-awaited, began, Mr. Crnalic, in an environment that cannot be called usual for a court trial. Dodik already showed at the first hearing that his defense will be based on the fact that everything he is accused of is illegal and illegitimate, including the law itself. How do you see the very beginning of the process and what do you expect?”
“It was to be expected that there would be a public uproar related to that case because this is not an ordinary defendant. After all, he is the president of the RS and is known as a man who publicly makes harsh statements. At this moment, he is a defendant like any other, and the court will do its job in the way it normally does, that is, how it conducts trials. Mr. Dodik formally pleaded at this moment, that is, the court assumed that he pleaded not guilty. This is followed by the main hearing. At the main hearing, the prosecution first presents evidence. After that, the defense presents evidence, and finally, the main hearing is concluded and a verdict is rendered. Therefore, it is a procedure prescribed by the Law on Criminal Procedure of BiH and will be applied to Mr. Dodik as well. Whether the law, which was passed by the High Representative, exists or not will probably be decided in a constitutional court procedure if such a procedure is initiated by the competent authorities of the RS or someone else who is authorized. For now, the Court of BiH must act in accordance with the law passed by the High Representative, and in fact, it is the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code, which stipulates that disobeying the High Representative’s decisions constitutes a criminal offense, so penalties and security measures are prescribed. The court will surely apply this law because there is no choice. Therefore, the Court of BiH is not authorized to decide whether the High Representative is legal or not, whether the law passed by him exists or not… The Court of BiH acts in accordance with the laws that have been published publicly in the prescribed manner. The Law on Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure was, as you know, published in the Official Gazette of BiH and, in my opinion, the court will apply it. What will be the epilogue of that application, that is, whether the prosecution will prove the theses from the accusation, that will be shown by time, that is, that will be shown by the trial,” Crnalic emphasized.
Interview question: “Milorad Dodik, as could be expected, bases his defense on the illegality and illegitimacy of the law, and even of the Court of BiH, but there is one element that he presented immediately after that first hearing – that the RS is being judged here through him in a political sense. As a lawyer, you represented many political figures in BiH. What could his defense like this bring in legal and political terms?”
“In the legal sense, such defenses do not bring any result. In the political sense, such defenses engage the public, so it is talked about and discussed, and an environment is created, but there is no reflection on the court, that is, there should be no reflection on the court. Of course, the court isn’t isolated from the rest of the world. It works in a certain environment and such public hearings or public speeches can influence the panel that decides on a specific criminal case. It should not, but it can. No one can be protected from that possibility. I hope that in this particular case, regardless of the public noise that has been created, the court will do its job in accordance with the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. I have no doubt that the Court of BiH will pass an appropriate verdict,” Crnalic stated.
