The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska (NARS) adopted a draft decision tonight to proceed with the adoption of a new RS constitution.
50 deputies voted in favor of this decision, seven were against, and two abstained.
The decision obliges the Committee for Constitutional Affairs of the National Assembly to draft the text of the RS Constitution as soon as possible and submit it to the National Assembly. The adopted decision enters into force on the day of its adoption.
The President of the RS National Assembly Nenad Stevandić concluded the 19th special session of the parliament, and scheduled the 20th special session for tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.
In addition to the draft constitution, the proposed agenda will also include the Draft Law on the Protection of the Constitutional Order of the Republika Srpska, under urgent procedure, proposed by the entity President Milorad Dodik.
Today’s session of the RS National Assembly was held in the midst of 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 reason 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 Official Gazette of the RS and entered into force a day later.
The Constitutional Court of BiH temporarily banned the implementation of the aforementioned laws, Srna writes.
