BiH Constitutional Court Orders Republika Srpska Government to Halt Payments for Independence Lobbying

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered today, in plenary session, the Government of Republika Srpska (RS) to stop payments to all companies with which lobbying contracts were signed that cite “the independence of Republika Srpska” as their goal, as well as “other political goals that undermine the institutions of BiH”.

With this decision, such contracts were declared incompatible with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision was made on the basis of the appeal of the Deputy Speaker of the BiH Parliament’s House of Representatives, Denis Zvizdić (NiP).

The decision specifically cites the contract with “Dickens and Madson Canada Inc.”, where the goal is explicitly stated as “the independence of the RS”. The Court banned any payments from the RS budget related to the consultancy services contract signed on September 6, 2025 between Mladen Filipović, director of the RS Representation in Vienna, and Ari Ben-Menashe, president of the company Dickens & Madson Canada Inc., as well as all budget payments for lobbying services with goals contrary to the BiH Constitution.

The order also covers the RS National Assembly, the RS Government, other bodies and RS representations abroad, which are obligated to stop payments for lobbying aimed at the independence of the entity.