On 9 December 2025, the Constitutional Court held its electronic extraordinary plenary session at which it granted a request for interim measure in case no. U-35/25. In that case, Applicant Darko Babalj, First Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, lodged a request for the review of constitutionality of the Law on Political Party Financing (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, 45/25). In addition, the applicant filed a request for interim measure.
By the Decision on Interim Measure, the Constitutional Court suspended the Law on Political Party Financing (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, 45/25), which was adopted at the 22nd special session held by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska on 21 May 2025.
In the reasons for the decision, the Constitutional Court has noted that the existence of significantly different legal provisions at the state and Entity levels regarding the public funding of political parties and organisations raises a well founded concern that the application of the contested law could undermine the constitutional principle of the rule of law and lead to differential treatment in the exercise of political rights and in the political activities of parties from the RS Entity. The Constitutional Court has further considered as relevant the fact that the decision making process takes place at the very end of the budgetary year, when it is necessary to allocate funds that have already been planned. The failure to adopt an interim measure would, in the event that the applicant’s request is subsequently granted, lead to a situation where it would no longer be possible to allocate funds for the current year, thereby precluding their disbursement. Additionally, due to the same circumstances, there is a real possibility that funds for the public financing of political actors may not be planned at all in the RS budget for 2026. Thus, the application of the contested law, if it were later declared unconstitutional, would produce long term irreversible consequences, affecting not only the allocation of funds for 2025 but also the overall ability to ensure the legally prescribed level of financing in the year of general elections. In this regard, the Constitutional Court has recalled that next year, that is, in October 2026, general elections will be held, and that prior to the call for elections, political parties and independent candidates will need to undertake election preparation activities. This circumstance further highlights the immediate and potentially irreparable consequences of applying the contested law for political parties. Taking into account the arguments presented by the applicant, the Constitutional Court has concluded that there are sufficient reasons indicating that the implementation of the contested law, before the Constitutional Court decides on the submitted request, could cause serious and irreparable harmful consequences.
The Constitutional Court recalls that the Decision on Interim Measure does not prejudge the outcome of a decision on admissibility or a decision on the merits of the request.
