The Constitutional Court of BiH held today its regular 20th session of the Grand Chamber.

Inter alia, the Constitutional Court decided on a number of requests on violation of the appellants’ rights to a fair trial.

For the illustration purposes, we present the following:

Constitutional Court adopted appeal of Mr. Vitomir Soldat, lodged against the decision of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH of 3 July 2012, adopted in the disciplinary proceedings conducted against him. The applicant claimed a violation of the right to a fair trial emphasizing that, inter alia, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, when adopting it decisions failed to consider the provisions of Article 73 of the Law on High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (that regulates statute of limitations on conducting disciplinary proceedings). The Court concluded in this case that in the instant proceedings that enjoys guarantees of the right to a fair trial under Article II (3) of the Constitution of BiH and Article 6 paragraph 1 of the European Convention from the aspect of guarantees afforded by the “civil” level of right to a fair trial, there was a violation of the appellant’s right to a fair trial, due to arbitrary application of the substantive law since the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, when adopting its decisions, completely disregarded the provisions of Article 73 of the Law on High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council that stipulates statute of limitations.

In a certain number of cases, the Constitutional Court rejected appeals that were manifestly (prima facie) ill-founded and inadmissible. This relates to the cases in which the Court establishes that the requests of appellants were not justified i.e. the facts the appellants presented to the Court in those cases could not have in any manner justified the claim of the appellants that there is a violation of their rights protected by the Constitution or that the parties in the proceedings bear consequences of violation of rights protected by the Constitution.

At the today’s session, the Constitutional Court adopted Information on Failure to Enforce Decisions of the Constitutional Court and in that aspect adopted a conclusion that the decisions on the appeals in which Constitutional Court gives order to some party to pay out an amount to the appellant, as way of satisfaction for established violation of the constitutional rights, shall include information that after the expiration of the time limit for payment, an accruement of legal default interest to the awarded amount begins and that the decision of the Constitutional Court represents an enforcement document for the purpose of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings, based on which the appellant may instigate proceedings of compulsory enforcement with a regular court. Constitutional Court also concluded that in the rulings on the failure to enforce decisions in which Constitutional Court gave orders to a regular court to act, it shall also be determined that the ruling shall be submitted to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council for the purpose of undertaking further steps aimed at enforcement.

At the same time, we are using this opportunity to inform the public that due to the illness of the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of BiH, Tudor Pantiru, that currently prevents him to work and take part in decision-making of this Court, public hearing in case of the Review of Constitutionality of the Law on Holidays of Republika Srpska, no. U 3/13 scheduled for 27 May 2015 shall not be held. Constitutional Court of BiH shall continue to work on this case when the conditions to work and decide in full composition of nine judges are met.

All decisions adopted at the session shall be submitted to the appellants within a time limit of one month and posted on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.