On July 4, 2025, the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled to cancel the arrest warrant for Milorad Dodik, the president of the Republika Srpska. He is suspected of attempting to undermine the constitutional order. Instead of arresting him, the court imposed restrictive measures, as reported by the Balkan service of “Radio Free Europe.”
On the same day, Dodik voluntarily appeared at the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina with his lawyer for questioning in a case concerning his possible crime – an attack on the constitutional order. The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Dodik was a suspect in this case.
According to “Radio Free Europe,” Dodik had avoided arrest for several months due to the inability to question him during the investigation. On that day, at the initiative of the Prosecutor’s Office, he was brought to court, where the decision to cancel his detention was made.
The court also obliged Dodik to report periodically to the state authority, and the terms of the imposed restrictions will be reviewed every two months.
“The suspect was specifically warned that he could be detained if he violated the obligations stipulated by certain restrictive measures.”
On February 26, the court issued a first-instance verdict, sentencing Dodik to one year in prison and six years of prohibition from holding the office of president of the Republika Srpska. He was found guilty of contempt for the decisions of the High Representative Christian Schmidt and for signing a decree on the adoption of laws that had previously been annulled.
These laws aimed to prevent the enforcement of decisions by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the High Representative in the territory of the RS, which had annulled laws passed by the parliament.
The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation in December 2024 on suspicion of committing a criminal offense related to an attack on the constitutional order. In March of this year, the judicial police received an order to arrest Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and the Speaker of the RS National Assembly Nenad Stevandić.
In the arrest warrant, they were accused of committing a criminal offense related to an attack on the constitutional order. This order was issued on the day when the RS National Assembly planned to discuss a draft Constitution that envisages defining the RS as the state of the Serbian people, the right to self-determination, the creation of its own army, and the abolition of the Council of Peoples.
The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides for punishment of up to five years in prison for illegal attempts to change the constitutional order or overthrow the highest institutions of the country.
At the same time, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a temporary measure against the application of the Law on the Special Register and Transparency of Non-Governmental Organizations. The request was submitted by Kemal Ademović, deputy speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This law, adopted by the RS parliament, introduces strict control over the activities of the civil sector, following Russian legislation. Dodik stated that these laws would be implemented despite the court’s decision.