KOJIĆ: WE OPPOSE PROPOSAL TO EXTEND JURISDICTION OF COURT OF BiH

ARAJEVO, APRIL 29, 2026 /SRNA/ – The SNSD club in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly will not support a proposal expanding the jurisdiction of the Court of BiH, SNSD deputy Milorad Kojić has said today.

"The Court of BiH cannot have jurisdiction over acts prescribed by criminal laws adopted in Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH", Kojić emphasized.

He explained that the Court of BiH may only have jurisdiction over criminal offenses defined by the Criminal Code of BiH and other laws adopted by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

During the debate on the Draft Law on the Court of BiH and the Appellate Court proposed by MP Predrag Kojović, Kojić said he agreed with the proposer that power is concentrated around one individual, namely the president of the court.

He added that the president of the Court of BiH has the authority to appoint members of first-instance and appellate panels, which, according to Kojić, was most evident in the political case conducted against then-President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik.

According to him, there are so many objections to the content of the draft law that it could not be corrected even through amendments.

Kojić disagreed with Kojović's claim that the seat of the court is not important, stressing that the independence and impartiality between first-instance and second-instance judges must be ensured.

He said the draft law also expands the jurisdiction of the Court of BiH in civil proceedings, which is another objection SNSD has to the proposal.

Kojić also stated that citizens of Republika Srpska, as well as SNSD, will not accept the establishment of a Supreme Court of BiH.

Responding to Kojović's statement that the proposal is aligned with the EU, Kojić noted that MPs were not elected by the EU, but by the citizens.

"We are not their marionettes to be played with and told that something must be adopted in a certain way. If you are negotiating legal solutions with them, then express your own position instead of only listening to what they say", Kojić said.