Emblem of Republika Srpska
Encyclopedia
The Seal of Republika Srpska with the description:
the flag of Republika Srpska
and the letters "РС" ("RS"), the red-blue-white tricolor are in the center of the seal, twisted with the golden Oak
leaves, the Oak tree
is traditionally sacred to Serbs
. On the edge of the seal there is an inscription Republika Srpska (in Cyrillic
and Latin
), in the bottom of the seal there is the crown of Kotromanić and topped with the open heraldic Royal crown.
in take off, armed with gold, with golden tongue and legs, the chest covered by a red shield with the Serbian cross
, a silver cross with four firesteel
s.
, then Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed a request with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the review of constitutionality of Articles 1 and 2 of the Law on the Coat of Arms and Flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Federation of BiH No. 21/96 and 26/96), Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Constitutional Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska No. 19/92), Articles 2 and 3 of the Law on the Use of Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska No. 4/93) and Articles 1 and 2 of the Law on the Family Patron-Saint’s Days and Church Holidays of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska No. 19/92). On 2 December 2004 the applicant submitted a supplement to the request. Two partial decisions were made in 2006, when the Court found that the coat of arms
and flag
of the Federation of B&H, and coat of arms, anthem, family patron-saint days and church holidays of Republika Srpska were unconstitutional. In its decision, among other things, the Court stated:
The formal name of the item is U-4/04, but it is widely known as "Decision on the insignia of entities" (Bosnian: Odluka o obilježjima entiteta), since its merritum was about the symbols of entities. The Court has ordered the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to bring the contested legal documents in line with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina within six months from the publishing date of its decision in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the harmonisation was not done in that granted time-limit, that Court has, on January 27, 2007, adopted the Ruling on failure to enforce in which it established that the contested articles of the interpreted legal documents shall cease to be in force as of the date following the publishing date of the Ruling in Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On June 16 2007, the Government of Republika Srpska had adopted the provisional emblem of Republika Srpska, until it adopted the new Coat of Arms of Republika Srpska. It had also decided to use the melody of its former anthem "Bože pravde
" as its new intermezzo anthem, but the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska has declared such use of melody as unconstitutional as well, so the new anthem, "Moja Republika
" was adopted. Both the new anthem (in relation to words moja zemlja - "may land") and new coat of arms have been contested by Bosniak members of National Assembly of Republika Srpska in front of the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska. The Court declared the coat of arms to be unconstitutional since it did not represent Bosniaks in any way, while it rejected the claim in relation to the anthem.
the flag of Republika Srpska
Flag of Republika Srpska
The flag of Republika Srpska was adopted on February 28, 1992. The flag is a rectangular tricolour with three equal horizontal bands of red, blue and white....
and the letters "РС" ("RS"), the red-blue-white tricolor are in the center of the seal, twisted with the golden Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
leaves, the Oak tree
Oak Tree
Oak Tree may refer to:*Oak, the tree*Oak Tree, County Durham, a village in County Durham, England*The Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run aid and development agency*Oak Tree National, golf club in Edmond, Oklahoma...
is traditionally sacred to Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. On the edge of the seal there is an inscription Republika Srpska (in Cyrillic
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
and Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
), in the bottom of the seal there is the crown of Kotromanić and topped with the open heraldic Royal crown.
Former coat of arms
The former coat of arms of Republika Srpska showed, on a red shield, over headed by the Karađorđević crown, a bicephalic silver eagleDouble-headed eagle
The double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry and vexillology. It is most commonly associated with the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the Emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine Emperors over both East and...
in take off, armed with gold, with golden tongue and legs, the chest covered by a red shield with the Serbian cross
Serbian cross
The Serbian Cross is a national symbol of Serbia, part of the Coat of Arms of Serbia, and the flag of Serbia. It is composed of a cross symbol with four C-shapes on each of its corners, in use as a national emblem since the 14th century....
, a silver cross with four firesteel
Firesteel
A Fire striker is a piece of high-carbon steel used for striking a spark, usually kept in a tinderbox together with flint and tinder.-Usage:...
s.
Decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 12 April 2004, Sulejman TihićSulejman Tihic
Sulejman Tihić is a Bosniak politician, a leading member of Party of Democratic Action .Tihić was born in the town of Bosanski Šamac in northern Bosnia. He obtained a degree in Law from the University of Sarajevo...
, then Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed a request with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the review of constitutionality of Articles 1 and 2 of the Law on the Coat of Arms and Flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Federation of BiH No. 21/96 and 26/96), Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Constitutional Law on the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska No. 19/92), Articles 2 and 3 of the Law on the Use of Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska No. 4/93) and Articles 1 and 2 of the Law on the Family Patron-Saint’s Days and Church Holidays of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska No. 19/92). On 2 December 2004 the applicant submitted a supplement to the request. Two partial decisions were made in 2006, when the Court found that the coat of arms
Coat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The coat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted on November 5, 1996. The green background and the golden fleur-de-lis represented the Bosniaks, while the chequy shield represented the Bosnian Croats. The ten stars arranged in a circle represented the 10 cantons of the...
and flag
Flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted on November 5, 1996. On the flag, green stands for the Bosniaks and red for the Bosnian Croats. The same goes for the coat of arms, whereon the green arms and golden fleur-de-lis stand for the Bosniaks and the chequy shield for...
of the Federation of B&H, and coat of arms, anthem, family patron-saint days and church holidays of Republika Srpska were unconstitutional. In its decision, among other things, the Court stated:
The formal name of the item is U-4/04, but it is widely known as "Decision on the insignia of entities" (Bosnian: Odluka o obilježjima entiteta), since its merritum was about the symbols of entities. The Court has ordered the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to bring the contested legal documents in line with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina within six months from the publishing date of its decision in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the harmonisation was not done in that granted time-limit, that Court has, on January 27, 2007, adopted the Ruling on failure to enforce in which it established that the contested articles of the interpreted legal documents shall cease to be in force as of the date following the publishing date of the Ruling in Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On June 16 2007, the Government of Republika Srpska had adopted the provisional emblem of Republika Srpska, until it adopted the new Coat of Arms of Republika Srpska. It had also decided to use the melody of its former anthem "Bože pravde
Bože pravde
"Bože pravde" is the official anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia. "Bože pravde" was the anthem of the Principality of Serbia and Kingdom of Serbia until 1918 when Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed. It was recommended by the Parliament of...
" as its new intermezzo anthem, but the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska has declared such use of melody as unconstitutional as well, so the new anthem, "Moja Republika
Moja Republika
Moja Republika is the entity anthem of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On July 16, 2008 it replaced the previous anthem Bože pravde, which was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006...
" was adopted. Both the new anthem (in relation to words moja zemlja - "may land") and new coat of arms have been contested by Bosniak members of National Assembly of Republika Srpska in front of the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska. The Court declared the coat of arms to be unconstitutional since it did not represent Bosniaks in any way, while it rejected the claim in relation to the anthem.
See also
- Flag of Republika SrpskaFlag of Republika SrpskaThe flag of Republika Srpska was adopted on February 28, 1992. The flag is a rectangular tricolour with three equal horizontal bands of red, blue and white....
- Flag of Bosnia and HerzegovinaFlag of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag...
- Coat of arms of Bosnia and HerzegovinaCoat of arms of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1998, replacing the previous design that had been in use since 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence, and follows the design of the national flag. The three pointed shield is specific and is to symbolize the three major ethnic...
- Coat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaCoat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe coat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted on November 5, 1996. The green background and the golden fleur-de-lis represented the Bosniaks, while the chequy shield represented the Bosnian Croats. The ten stars arranged in a circle represented the 10 cantons of the...