Legal representative of Republika Srpska, Lazar Stjepanović, believes there are grounds for the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to uphold the announced appeal by the defense of SNSD President Milorad Dodik against the verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stjepanović says it is clear that articles of the European Convention were violated in the proceedings in which Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and six years of prohibition from political activity for “disrespecting the decisions of Christian Schmidt,” emphasizing that the criminal offense had to exist at the time it was allegedly committed.
“There are elements for the Court to accept the application, after which attention is drawn to the state, in this case Bosnia and Herzegovina, to amend its criminal legislation and remove the criminal offense under which the trial was conducted,” Stjepanović said.
He claims that a factor which should influence the judges lies in the fact that Schmidt is not a legally appointed High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stjepanović explained that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg cannot examine the merits of the verdict handed down to Dodik, nor determine whether he committed the criminal offense for which he was convicted, but it can, on the basis of evidence, determine whether any of the rights prescribed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms were violated.
“The judges will first review the procedural conditions, that is, whether they are fulfilled in order to decide on the application at all, and whether all legal remedies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been exhausted. There are no precise deadlines within which they must decide on the request,” Stjepanović told Glas Srpske.
He added that cases are treated as a priority if they are considered urgent, and if not, the process can last longer than a year or two.
Stjepanović believes that, given the fact that this is a political process which has generated significant public interest, the judges could decide on this application more quickly.
An appeal by Dodik’s defense against the verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the coming days.
Source: RTRS
