Attack on the constitutional order (high treason) in the criminal law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and countries in the region

In recent months, the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina, above all, but also all others who have been following developments in the country, have been preoccupied with its difficult political and constitutional situation. This is certainly reflected in the daily discourse over the existence of the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order or colloquially referred to as high treason committed by even the highest political representatives of all three constituent peoples. Due to the broad definition of this criminal offense in our legislation, which has been further complicated by its imposition by K. Šmit has enabled a large number, primarily political representatives, to engage in classifying certain actions of some other politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an attack on the constitutional order. For example, the Vice President of the Republic of Srpska, Ć. Duraković filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Srpska, S. Karan, for making threats to attack the constitutional order. According to him, the complaint was based on the provision of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which prescribes a minimum prison sentence of at least five years for attempting to alter the constitutional order through the use or threat of force. On the other hand, daily newspaper headlines testify to an overwhelming eruption of actions by individuals which are, quite unnecessarily, often qualified as the most serious criminal offenses. Otherwise, scientific and expert treatment of this incrimination has been largely neglected today, in both theory and practice, with only a small number of excerpts and scientific works addressing offenses of this nature, particularly those concerning attacks on the constitutional order. In addition to the above, it should be emphasized that in legal theory, there is a fairly common view that the acts of committing an attack on the constitutional order and the incitement to its violent overthrow are imprecisely legally defined in most criminal legislations, which may create certain difficulties in the practical application of the aforementioned criminal laws. This paper will discuss the provisions of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as other provisions of this law referring to criminal offenses against the constitutional order, as well as other similar provisions contained in the remaining three criminal codes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.