Regarding the yesterday's press release by Seada Palavrić, President of the Constitutional Court of BiH, Mr. Zoran Krešić/Večernji list BiH sent some questions to the Constitutional Court seeking answers “in the light of the importance of transparency and clarity in communication of the Constitutional Court, as well as the context of an ongoing debate on amendments to the Election Law”.

Recognising the importance of transparency and clarity in communication of the Constitutional Court of BiH, and the fact that two press releases were issued in as many days, the Constitutional Court of BiH makes public the answers given to the questions asked by Mr. Krešić.

Question 1. “Has there been a consent or position of the other judges of the Constitutional Court as to the issuance of the press release by the President of the Constitutional Court Seada Palavrić? If not, what is the justification for such a course of action? “

Answer: There has been no consent or a position of the other judges of the Constitutional Court as to the issuance of the press release by the President of the Constitutional Court Seada Palavrić. According to Article 85 of the Rules of the Constitutional Court BiH – Representation of the Constitutional Court – “President of the Constitutional Court shall represent the Constitutional Court, organise, direct, convene and chair sessions and public hearings, sign the decisions of the Constitutional Court, be responsible for cooperation with other institutions, issue individual acts and carry out other duties as specified in these Rules and other acts of the Constitutional Court.

In the light of the cited provisions of the cited Rules on representing the Constitutional Court, it is implied that President of the Constitutional Court, as part of representation and cooperation with other institutions (and, in particular, ensuring transparency of the Constitutional Court), issues press releases not only about sessions but also when there is a need to inform the public truthfully about the work of the Constitutional Court. This is especially so in situations when that work and/or decisions of the Constitutional Court are not presented truthfully to the public through the media.

Question 2. “What is the view of the Constitutional Court on the claims that the issuance of the press release is the act of a single individual and not the position of all the judges?“

Answer: All the individuals who held the office of the President of the Constitutional Court as of the Dayton Constitution and setting up of the Constitutional Court issued press releases independently and individually without acquiring the position of all the judges on it. The only exceptions were when something was explicitly agreed upon at sessions of the Constitutional Court. The current President of the Constitutional Court has followed that approach in the past year of her term and will continue to do so until the end of the term whenever there is a need to protect the dignity and work of the Constitutional Court or a need to tell the truth to the public about the work of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Question 3. “Has the press release been issued in response to the current political situation, particularly in the context of discussion of the HDZ's election law, and has there been an intention to influence the public opinion or discredit a particular political stakeholder? “

Answer: The press release has not been issued in response to the current political situation or in the context of discussion of HDZ's election law, nor has there been an intention to discredit a particular political stakeholder. The press release has, however, been issued to influence the public opinion by informing public truthfully about the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. In in respect of these decisions, it is claimed in the public, for political purposes, that the Constitutional Court decided something that the Constitutional Court did not deliberate on and did not have decided on. Namely, the Constitutional Court may review the constitutionality of legal acts only if such acts have entered into force.

Question 4. “In what way does the Constitutional Court ensure that its decisions are not misused for political purposes, especially in sensitive election and legislative processes? “

Answer: All the decisions of the Constitutional Court have been and continue to be published on the website of the Constitutional Court. On the one hand, this ensures that the work of the Constitutional Court is transparent. On the other, legal professionals can engage in a public debate on the situations such as this one when decisions of the Constitutional Court are not presented truthfully to the public. Unfortunately, there was no debate in the academic community, the latter being qualified to deal with such issues as that is its role. Legal professionals have been silent for a month and a half, with occasional notable exceptions. As a result, the only way is that the President of the Constitutional Court issues a press release, informing the public truthfully about what the Constitutional Court decided and did not decide on, in order to prevent decisions of the Constitutional Court from being misused for political purposes, especially in sensitive election and legislative processes. This is done whenever there is an instance of misuse, and when the Constitutional Court is not in session. Hence the yesterday's action of Constitutional Court President Seada Palavrić.

Question 5. “Is there a mechanism within the Constitutional Court for correction or extraction of press releases that were not adopted jointly and have additional measures to prevent such situations in the future been planned?“

Answer: There is no mechanism within the Constitutional Court for correction or extraction of press releases that were not adopted jointly because press releases are not composed or issued jointly. As noted above, this is the right and duty of President of the Constitutional Court. Therefore, no additional measures to prevent “such  situations in the future” have been planned. If at some point the Constitutional Court decided to amend its Rules and limit the rights and duties of President of the Constitutional Court, then probably necessary measures would be planned if President of the Constitutional Court exceeded his/her authority or failed to discharge his/her responsibilities.

Answer to a question not asked: President of the Constitutional Court Seada Palavrić has provided answers to Mr. Krešić's questions, as the freedom of access to information is conditio sine qua non of a democratic process and constitutes a constitutional category as a right that appears as an autonomous right. It is an integral part of the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This is a fundamental democratic right of citizens and a very important means to ensure the rule of law and good management.

However, bearing  in mind the tone and content of the questions put to the Constitutional Court regarding the yesterday's press release of the President of the Constitutional Court of BiH Seada Palavrić that literally defended the dignity of the Constitutional Court, and bearing in mind the autonomy and independence of the Constitutional Court, one cannot help but wonder: do the asked questions exert pressure on the work of the Constitutional Court represented by its President and is a message being sent that the Constitutional Court of BiH and/or its President should and must be silent no matter what untruths are spoken about the work  of the Constitutional Court and its decisions?!

Seada Palavrić
President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Hercegovina