The Constitutional Court of the Republika Srpska will issue a decision on the merits of the request of the Bosniak Club in the Council of Peoples of the RS regarding the violation of a vital national interest by the Law on Amendments to the Law on Referendum and Citizens’ Initiative and the Decision on Calling a Referendum in the next month.
As explained by the Council for the Protection of Vital National Interest of the RS Constitutional Court, today the subjects of the Council’s decision were the issues of admissibility of the request of the Bosniak People’s Club in the Council of Peoples of the RS regarding the violation of the vital national interest of the constituent Bosniak people in relation to the Law on Amendments to the Law on Referendum and Citizens’ Initiative and the Decision on Early Entry into Force of the Law, and in relation to the Decision on Calling a Referendum and the Decision on Early Entry into Force.
The aforementioned acts were adopted by the National Assembly of the RS by the votes of the parliamentary majority at the 24th special session held on 22 August this year.
The Council therefore discussed the admissibility of the above-mentioned requests, i.e. whether there are procedural requirements for a merit-based decision on whether the contested acts have violated the vital national interest of the constituent Bosniak people.
– The Council today determined that the requests are admissible, given that the procedure relating to the vital national interest was carried out in accordance with Amendment LXXXII to the Constitution of the RS, which amended Article 70 of the Constitution. The Council also noted that other procedural requirements for a merit-based decision on these requests have been met, and that the merit-based decisions will be made within the time limit set by the Constitution within the next month – the Constitutional Court of the RS announced.
The contested law defines that a referendum in the RS can be conducted by a commission of the RS National Assembly, or an ad hoc commission, and the decision defines that the referendum will be held on October 25 with the referendum question: “Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner Kristijan Šmit and the verdicts of the unconstitutional Court of BiH pronounced against the President of the RS, as well as the decision of the CEC to revoke the mandate of the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik?”.
The law and the decision were adopted at a special session of the RS National Assembly following the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH to revoke the mandate of Milorad Dodik as President of the RS, and following the final verdict of the Court of BiH banning Dodik from holding public office for the next six years.
