Bosnia court bans funding lobbying for Republika Srpska independence — Balkan Insight
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has prohibited payments from the budget of Republika Srpska under a contract with Canadian consulting company Dickens & Madson Canada Inc. The court found that financing lobbying services to promote the entity’s independence contradicts the country’s constitutional order.
Contract with a Canadian company
As Balkan Insight reports, the decision concerns an agreement between the Republika Srpska representation office in Vienna and Montreal-based Dickens & Madson Canada Inc. One of the key political goals stated in the contract was the independence of Republika Srpska.
The legal challenge was initiated in April by state-level lawmaker Denis Zvizdic. He stated that using taxpayers’ money to lobby against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is unconstitutional.
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The court’s decision
In 2008, the court allowed Republika Srpska to hire foreign companies for general economic promotion. In its current ruling, the court established that financing campaigns directly aimed at secession constitutes an encroachment on the constitutional order.
The court prohibited all payments from the Republika Srpska budget related to the consulting services contract with Dickens & Madson Canada Inc. It also noted that financing lobbying for goals that contradict the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is incompatible with the state’s constitutional order.
Zvizdic welcomed the decision. According to him, citizens’ funds should be directed toward development and investment rather than undermining the state. Under state-level laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities have no constitutional right to unilaterally secede, while disregarding or violating a binding decision of the Constitutional Court may have serious legal consequences. The full text of the decision is to be delivered to the parties and published on the court’s website within a month.
