The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina reached a decision that prohibits payments from the budget of Republika Srpska linked to a lobbying agreement that the entity’s representative office in Vienna concluded with Dickens & Madson Canada Inc.
The decision, which relates to the agreement signed on September 6, 2025, between Mladen Filipović, director of the Representative Office of Republika Srpska in Vienna, and Ari Ben-Menashe, president of Dickens & Madson Canada Inc., was adopted at the 174th plenary session of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The court determined that activities that were implemented based on that agreement, as well as other activities linked to lobbying for goals contrary to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are not aligned with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Prohibition of Budget Payments
As stated in the decision, the Constitutional Court prohibited all payments from the budget of Republika Srpska related to the aforementioned agreement.
The prohibition also covers other acts and activities related to lobbying on behalf of and for the account of Republika Srpska through lobbying agencies, if such activities pertain to goals that are contrary to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the decisions and activities of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the same time, the Court ordered the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the Government of Republika Srpska, and other competent bodies, as well as official and responsible persons in these institutions, to halt activities related to payments under this agreement.
The order also applies to the representative offices of Republika Srpska abroad, as well as budget financing of lobbying services directed towards goals which the Constitutional Court deemed inconsistent with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Agreement in Focus Because of “Independence of Republika Srpska”
The agreement with Dickens & Madson Canada Inc. is at the heart of the proceedings because the specified lobbying goals also included achieving the “independence of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Denis Zvizdić, Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, submitted a request to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2026, precisely due to the budget financing of lobbying activities of Republika Srpska.
In his request, Zvizdić sought a ban on budget payments for lobbying aimed at goals that are, as he stated, contrary to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Case Covers Tens of Millions of BAM
The proceedings before the Constitutional Court also referred to budget items concerning the financing of representative offices of Republika Srpska abroad.
The agenda of the 174th plenary session also included the request regarding 15 million BAM allocated in the budget of Republika Srpska for 2026, as well as 49 million BAM from the second budget rebalance for 2025. The scope of the case also encompassed the agreement between Mladen Filipović and Ari Ben-Menashe.
With its decision, the Constitutional Court has now prohibited payments linked to this specific agreement, as well as the budget financing of lobbying activities targeting goals that are contrary to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the decisions of state institutions.
