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When a Government Lacks Constitutional Title: U-29/25, Acting Authority, and Executive Legitimacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction The appointment of the new Government of Republika Srpska in August 2025 unfolded under highly atypical and constitutionally contentious circumstances, ultimately giving rise to one of the most significant constitutional disputes in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 18 August 2025, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a final judgment establishing that Milorad Dodik’s …

Bosnia’s Dodik Case: A “Victory” for the Rule of Law

The conviction of Milorad Dodik, the then president of Republika Srpska (RS), by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on February 26th , 2025, which was upheld in totality by the appellate chamber of the same court on June 12th, 2025, represents both a watershed moment and a cautionary tale for the rule of law …

When Court Decisions Simply Aren’t Enough: What Comes Next for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Crisis?

Following unprecedented legal moves toward the de facto secession of one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) subnational units—Republika Srpska (RS)—the Constitutional Court of BiH (CC BiH / the Court) has annulled laws and policies it deemed to undermine state sovereignty and the supremacy of national judicial and security institutions within RS territory. However, the legal …