The trial of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, scheduled to begin on Wednesday for non-implementation of the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been postponed until December 6. The court in Bosnia and Herzegovina announced the delay after confirming that Dodik had a planned trip to Hungary, which he claimed he received an invitation for before the hearing was originally slated for November 22.

If convicted, both Dodik and another official, Nedeljko Lukić, could face a potential sentence ranging from six months to five years in prison as well as an automatic ban on holding their positions. This is according to changes to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina that were imposed by current High Representative Christian Schmidt on July 1. These changes were also the same time when Schmidt put out of force laws that Republika Srpska had tried to block, as well as a judgment by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Lukić published the changes in the Official Gazette of the entity, which means both officials broke the law. At a preliminary hearing at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both Dodik and Lukić pleaded not guilty and argued that Schmidt is not a legitimately elected high representative despite being elected according to procedure. They claim this means he could not have imposed changes to the criminal code.