On Thurday, the Office of the High Representative Christian Schmidt called on the Republika Srpska (RS) authorities to immediately repeal the Law on Immovable Property used for the Functioning of the RS Public Authority, after which constitutional law expert, professor Nurko Pobric said that he believes that RS will not accept such a request.
The law is null and void
”I think that the law will remain, like some other laws and decisions, which were declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. They still apply. Therefore, it goes beyond the sphere of law and enters a political sphere,” Pobric explained.
The regulations in force, to which the High Representative reminded in the letter to the National Assembly of RS (NARS), are quite clear. The temporary ban on disposing of state property is in force and any decision, contract, or other legal act disposing of state property, which is concluded in violation of these laws, is void. However, on February 10th, the NARS adopted the Law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of the RS Public Authority, and it was published in the RS Official Gazette on Tuesday.
”An earlier decision by the High Representative banned the disposal of state property until a law is passed at the BiH level. That law has not yet been passed and the entities cannot pass such laws. That law is therefore null and void and the High Representative is right in that regard, but the fact that he says that it is null and void does not mean anything,” Pobric pointed out.
Power factor
According to the practice of recent years, the Bonn powers are in a drawer, and they stay in that place during more and more intense and aggressive offensives from RS, aimed at collapsing the state and its institutions, and in this case the seizure of its property.
”Kidnapping, working illegally, unconstitutionally, and that is now a factor of power, not a factor of rights. In this case, it is possible to turn to the Constitutional Court, which will declare this law unconstitutional, as in the case of RS Day. That, however, is not respected. On the other hand, the Criminal Code prescribes that non-compliance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court is a criminal offense, but no one has been held accountable for that so far. We have to admit that we are extremely dependent on the international factor. As much as we try to be sovereign and independent, which is true in a way, we are de facto under some kind of guardianship, semi-protectorate, or protectorate, so this issue must be resolved by representatives of international institutions,” concluded the professor of constitutional law, Nurko Pobric.
