The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia (MOD) will not subject young men from Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatian and BiH citizenship who do not serve in the army in Croatia to criminal prosecution, since the laws in BiH prohibit military training in foreign armed forces, the Ministry of Defense told “Nezavisne novine”, thus eliminating numerous dilemmas that young men with BiH and Croatian citizenship living in BiH had.
Let us recall that the new Law on Defense of Croatia, which defines that young men from Bosnia and Herzegovina with dual citizenship will also serve their military service, has opened up a number of questions, because, for example, the Criminal Code of BiH prevents BiH citizens from participating in foreign military formations and is punishable by imprisonment.
In a response to “Nezavisne novine”, the Ministry of Defense clarified the rules.
“When it comes to young men aged 19 who have registered residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and have dual citizenship, Croatian and BiH, the Ministry of Defense will not subject these Croatian citizens to criminal prosecution, since the laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina prohibit military training in foreign armed forces,” the Croatian Ministry of Defense told Nezavisne.
In addition, as they state, the Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Dual Citizenship, which the Croatian Parliament adopted in 2007 and the Presidency of BiH ratified in 2011, stipulates that a dual citizen must perform military service or other mandatory service in the contracting party in which he or she has permanent residence.
“Military duty and compulsory service, within the meaning of this Agreement, are considered all obligations in the field of defense that are performed in accordance with the legislation of the contracting parties. If a dual citizen has performed the obligation to serve military service, or civilian service in one of the contracting parties, this performance shall also be recognized in the contracting party of the other citizenship,” the Croatian Ministry of Defense stated.
The BiH Ministry of Defense stated that holders of BiH citizenship, who live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, cannot serve military service abroad.
“Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina whose residence is in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those with dual citizenship, are prohibited from serving military service and training as recruits in the armed forces of other states,” the BiH Ministry of Defense said.
