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On the constitutionality of the flag I
Mh. So, it should have been done by now -- has the law been changed? —Nightstallion (?) 11:09, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
- The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 17 and 18 November 2006 — Preceding unsigned comment added by PKo (talk • contribs) 18:35, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
- Actually the court has voted against the flag for both Bosnian entities on January 27, 2007. Here is the link: Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruling. Thanks, Vseferović 04:59, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
On the constitutionality of the flag II
This first comment was copied from Talk:Republika Srpska#On the constitutionality of the flag, talk page where the issue has been discussed since 17:03, 31 January 2007 (UTC). It was expanded here. - Evv 17:49, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
From what I've seen so far, the flag of Republika Srpska (RS) has been deemed constitutional in November 2006 by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC of BiH), and subsequently has not been affected by the January 27, 2007, ruling issued by the CC of BiH, thus remaining constitutional.
As far as flags go, only the one of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) has been declared unconstitutional.
1. The CC of BiH press release: November 2006
The CC of BiH decided in November 2006 that the flag of RS is in conformity with the Constitution of BiH, as the November 2006 press release by the CC of BiH clearly states:
The Constitutional Court has also held that Article 1 of the Constitutional Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska is in conformity with Article II (4) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in conjunction with Articles 1.1 and 2 (a) and (c) of the International Convention for Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination under Annex I to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Constitutional Court has found it can accept the National Assembly’s argument that the flag of the Republika Srpska, as defined in Article 1 of the Constitutional Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska, does not represent only the Serb people in the Republika Srpska as the colors displayed on that flag are Pan-Slavic colors which are specific for the history of the Slavic peoples, including the constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitutional Court reminds that the flag of the Republika Srpska and flag of Serbia are not identical as the flag of Serbia, which, unlike the flag of Republika Srpska, has a coat of arms. Moreover, the fact, which was stated in the applicant’s request, that the flag was used during the war and that war was waged under that symbol, does not mean per se that the colors on the flag and their arrangement are unconstitutional.
This decision by the CC of BiH has not been overturned at a later time. This is the reason behind the January 27 press release by the CC of BiH explicitly avoiding mention of Article 1 (the flag): it had already been deemed constitutional in November 2006.
2. The CC of BiH press release: January 27, 2007
The January 27 press release by the CC of BiH deems only Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitutional Law on Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska as unconstitutional, not the entire law, for it explicitly avoids mention of Article 1 (the flag).
This Article 1 refers to the flag, as the November 2006 press release by the CC of BiH clearly mentions: the flag of the Republika Srpska, as defined in Article 1 of the Constitutional Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska...
Therefore, had the flag being deemed unconstitutional, overturning the November 2006 decision, the January 27 press release should have stated something along the lines of " Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Constitutional Law on Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska as unconstitutional." But it doesn't, it explicitly avoids mention of Article 1 (the flag).
The word Flag appears in the text only as part of the law's name, namely "Constitutional Law on Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska" (Уставног закона о застави, грбу и химни Републике Српске). It doesn't mean that the flag is also deemed unconstitutional.
This view has been shared by 74.98.253.27 & Boismortier also. But, in any case, our interpretations of this could be considered as just original reaserch on our part.
3. Other sources' description of the issue
Let's see what other reliable sources say about it.
- The Southeast European Times:
- The "BiH Constitutional Court annuls entity symbols " article (January 29, 2007) gives the exact same interpretation, clearly stating: As a result, FBiH does not have a flag or coat of arms, while RS does not have an anthem or coat of arms.
- In other words, RS does indeed have a flag :-)
- The Southeast European Times article is also carried by:
- The Centre for SouthEast European Studies (a Bulgarian NGO based in Sofia) in "BiH Constitutional Court annuls entity symbols " (January 29, 2007).
- SEEurope.Net (which has information supplied by the news group of Bulgaria Economic Forum – BEF News) in "BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: BiH Constitutional Court Annuls Entity Symbols " (January 30, 2007).
- EUPM - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
(Press and Public Information Department Contacts)
- The "PPID Daily Media Summary, 29 January 2007: Entity symbols no longer valid " (citing Nezavisne Novine, Glas Srpske & Euro Blic as sources) states: The BiH Constitutional Court decided to annul the flag and the coat of arms of the Federation just like the RS coat of arms and anthem.
- It doesn't mention the annulment of the RS flag.
- The Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF):
- The national Austrian broadcaster's "Staatssymbole ändern " article ("Change the state symbols", January 30, 2007) mentions:
- ie bosniakisch-kroatische Föderation und die Republika Srpska müssen ihre Staatssymbole ändern. Per Beschluss des Verfassungsgerichtes gilt dies für beide Wappen sowie die Flagge der Föderation und die Hymne der Republika Srpska.
- My translation: "The FBiH and RS have to change their state symbols. By decision of the CC BiH this is applicable to both coat of arms as to the flag of FBiH and the anthem of RS."
- No mention about the decision being applicable to the flag of RS.
- ComPRess (Public relations agency of the City of Vienna, Austria, with center, S & E Europa):
- The "Wappen, Flaggen und Hymnen der BH-Teilländer außer Kraft gesetzt " article ("Coat of arms, flags and anthems of the constituent entities of BiH are abrogated", January 29, 2007) states:
- Das BH-Verfassungsgericht hat das Wappen und die Flagge der BH-Föderation, sowie das Wappen und die Hymne der Teilrepublik Srpska (RS) für ungültig erklärt.
- My translation: "The CC BiH has declared invalid the coat of arms and the flag of FBiH, and the coat of arms and the anthem of RS."
- No mention of the flag of RS being declared invalid.
- The Croatian Heraldic and Vexillologic Association (Hrvatsko grboslovno i zastavoslovno društvo - HGZD):
- The title "The flags of the Federation B&H and Srpska revoked " (January 30, 2007) is odd and rather misleading, for it gives the impression that the flag of RS has been deemed unconstitutional also. That mistake can be attributed to the article being hastily witten, as its many typoes show. But the text is clear: reached the veredict to abrogate Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitutional Law on the flag, the coat of arms and the anthem of the Republic of Srpska, by which the coat of arms and the anthem of RS are revoked.
- Again, it doesn't mention the RS flag's revocation.
Best regards, Evv 00:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
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