The adoption of the Law on the Protection of the Constitutional Order of Republika Srpska represents a direct and deliberate attack on the legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the OHR said after the session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, at which, in addition to this law, the Draft of the new Constitution of Republika Srpska was adopted.
As they stated, the unilateral establishment of parallel judicial institutions under the direct control of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska flagrantly ignores the supremacy of state legislation and attempts to implement laws that have been temporarily suspended by interim measures of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This not only shows blatant disregard for the decisions of the Constitutional Court by the authorities of Republika Srpska, but also represents a serious violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which opens new cases of criminal liability for those who carry out these actions,” the OHR said.
The Law on the Protection of the Constitutional Order of Republika Srpska, proposed by the President of Republika Srpska, as stated, effectively protects the constitutional order and provides for the establishment of a special prosecutor’s office and a special court of Republika Srpska.
At today’s session, a draft of the new RS constitution was also adopted, which, among other things, provides for the abolition of the position of vice president and the Council of Peoples, prescribes the right to self-determination, but also to join complex state unions. Rights and obligations include defense and international cooperation, as well as the RS army.
The new decisions and adoption of laws by the RS National Assembly come amid a heated political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which escalated after the Court of BiH sentenced RS President Milorad Dodik to one year in prison at the end of February and banned him from holding the office of President of the RS for six years, for disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt.
The first-instance verdict against Dodik was the occasion for the adoption of new laws in the RS National Assembly that, among other things, prohibit the operation of state judicial institutions and police agencies on the territory of this entity.
After the disputed laws were signed by the President of the RS, they were published in the RS Official Gazette and entered into force a day later.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina temporarily prohibited the application of the aforementioned laws.
