The Supreme Court of Republika Srpska has ruled in favour of BHRT, the Bosnian national broadcaster, with regard to unpaid fees from RTRS.
The Supreme Court of Republika Srpska has ruled in favor of BHRT in two court proceedings against RTRS, the public broadcaster of Republika Srpska. Over a number of years, RTRS has not shared the funds collected from television licence payments in Bosnia & Herzegovina with BHRT, which has contributed to the organisation’s debt. The proceeding was launched after the Constitutional Court of Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina cited a violation of BHRT’s rights.
Belmin Karamehmedović, General Director of BHRT, said that this decision is a turning point for BHRT:
“Courts in Republika Srpska will no longer be able to refer to the arguments they invoked when they ruled against BHRT. Unfortunately, this still does not mean the end of the road to exercise our legal rights that have been denied to us since 2017, but this is certainly a good and positive step for BHRT and the continuation of our fight to get the tax that is due to us”.
The Supreme Court of Republika Srpska, acting on the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, quashed the verdicts of the lower instance courts and ordered a retrial.
Vlado Adamović, a lawyer, explained to BHRT News:
“The Constitutional Court made a decision in which it found a violation of rights, brought it back the way it went from bottom to top, and now it went back from top to bottom. These procedures will be repeated with the aim of correcting the rights violations.”
Damir Katica, the lawyer who represented BHRT in the proceedings, believes that there is finally room for consistent application of the law.
“The Supreme Court of Republika Srpska annulled its verdicts, adopted the Revision of BHRT, annulled the verdict of the District Commercial Court in Banja Luka and the verdict of the Higher Commercial Court. The cases were sent back to the trial court for retrial. We expect that the next steps will ensure the consistent application of laws and decisions of the highest judicial institutions, which would finally ensure equality, legality and sustainability of the system in the interest of all citizens of Bosnia & Herzegovina.”
However, the process of collecting BHRT’s claims is not yet certain, although, as stated, all the key facts have been established. Belmin Karamehmedović further stated:
“When the process is restarted in Republika Srpska, it will take some time. We expect that it will not be as long as in previous years, but still, the right of BHRT to receive the funds provided for by law will have to go through a complete procedure. In the meantime, we have to find a solution on how to preserve public broadcasting in Bosnia & Herzegovina.”
According to available information, RTRS’s current debt to BHRT amounts to more than 98 million convertible marks over eight years, during which BHRT has not been paid the funds due by law.
Should this debt be cleared, it could allow BHRT to repay the debt it owes to the EBU and return to Eurovision. BHRT has been sanctioned by the EBU since December 2016 due to these unpaid debts and has been unable to return to Eurovision ever since.
Bosnia and Herzegovina last participated in the 2016 contest, in which returning artist Deen represented the country with the song “Ljubav Je” along with Dalal, Ana Rucner and Jala. The group just missed out on qualification chances, ending in 11th place in the semi-final with 104 points.
Image source: BHRT/Arijana Misimović Kurdija | Source: BHRT
Bosnia & Herzegovina debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent country in 1993. At the time the country was at war with Yugoslavia, with the singers having to leave Sarajevo under the cover of darkness to make it to Ireland. Bosnia & Herzegovina’s best result in the Eurovision Song Contest came in 2006, when Hari Mata Hari finished 3rd in the final with 229 points with “Lejla”. The country received eight sets of 12 points, more than any other country. Bosnia & Herzegovina last participated in 2016, when Dalal & Deen feat. Ana Rucner & Jala finished 11th in their semi-final and failed to reach the final.
