Last week the Constitutional Court of BiH issued a decision on an appeal filed two years ago by Bakir Izetbegovic, which questioned the legality of Republika Srpska’s National Day. The court ruled that the holiday’s existence is discriminatory toward non-Serbs, especially since it falls on January 9, which is also an Orthodox Christian holiday.
RS President Milorad Dodik called the ruling “unacceptable.” RS National Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic said that the ruling was “a political rather than legal decision,” and that the assembly would ignore it. Mladen Bosic, head of the SDS–which opposes President Dodik’s SNSD–joined his fellow Serbs in criticizing the decision. “Instead of looking at how to make a better life for people, we have a backstabbing struggle,” Bosic said.
The court is made up of two Serb judges, two Croat judges, two Bosniak judges, and three international members. This decision was supported by the Bosniak and foreign judges only.
