High Rep warns Bosnian Serb entity about violating agreement

NEWS 08.02.202221:20 0 komentara
ELVIS BARUKCIC / AFP, Ilustracija

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, on Tuesday warned the authorities of the Serb entity that their violation of an agreement on the establishment of state-level authorities would not go without serious consequences.

Schmidt issued a statement after a draft law on the Republika Srpska High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) was added to the agenda of the entity National Assembly’s session which began in Banja Luka today.

The bill was tabled by the ruling majority led by Milorad Dodik’s SNSD party and represents a concrete step in the implementation of his announcements that Republika Srpska will introduce laws that would de facto separate it from BiH’s constitutional and legal order.

Under the bill, the entity HJPC would take over the powers to appoint judges and prosecutors in Republika Srpska, which would prevent the state-level HJPC from operating.

Opposition parties in the entity’s parliament have criticised the SNSD’s proposals, saying that they are just part of Dodik’s election campaign.

Schmidt said the establishment of a Republika Srpska HJPC would violate a 2004 law under which the state-level HJPC was established based on an agreement between BiH’s two entities.

“It threatens the influence of judiciary and the primacy of rule of law. A professional judiciary free from political pressure and influence is key to developing a fair and democratic society and indispensable to BiH aspirations to become part of the European Union,” he said, adding that he will discuss possible countermeasures with the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board.

BiH Presidency chairman Zeljko Komsic said equally problematic was the fact that the Republika Srpska parliament would debate a bill whereby the entity planned to take over state-owned assets despite a Constitutional Court ban.

“That would cause a total collapse of the judicial authority in this country and the taking of state assets. This is a much more dangerous story than the one about the Republika Srpska Pharmaceutical Agency and there must be consequences,” Komsic said.

The Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA) has called on the Office of the High Representative to take resolute action.

“This is the most serious attack on the Dayton agreement to date,” said Adil Osmanovic, the SDA party’s whip in the BiH parliament’s lower house.

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