High Representative Christian Schmidt will appear before the European Court of Human Rights. The Republika Srpska (RS)repeats: Schmidt has no legitimacy to appear anywhere on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and they say that it is absurd for Schmidt to appear in Strasbourg without being able to testify before the Court of BiH in the case of Dodik and Lukic.
Apparently, Christian Schmidt invited himself to Strasbourg to testify in the Kovacevic case and to do some of his work there, Zeljka Cvijanovic, a member of the BiH Presidency from the RS, believes, adding that she does not know why he would be an expert for any interpretation.
“We all know how to read the Constitution, we know what it says, BiH is a state of two entities and three constituent nations. What do you want now, that with the help of the intervention of foreigners or the courts, you are entering a phase where I don’t know what you are looking for. You are changing the country without first changing its constitution in the way that the procedure foresees”, said Cvijanovic.
She adds that it is also absurd that Schmidt is testifying before the European Court of Human Rights, but he cannot testify before the Court of BiH.
“To ask him: Where did you get the right to do what you do, where did you get the right to impose something, are you a legislator and are you recognized by the constitution as someone who has the right to make laws, how did you get to that position?”
Legal experts from the RS say that Schmidt’s testimony before the Court in Strasbourg would represent an inconsistency of the European Court of Human Rights, which stated in the Sejdic-Finci judgment that the high representative cannot interfere in constitutional matters, and that Schmidt would have to appear before the Court of BiH.
“The invitation to the high representative before the European Court of Human Rights to be heard as a witness confirms that there are no arguments that he should not be called and heard before the Court of BiH in the same capacity. Appearing in front of that court would be the most direct respect for the judicial system of BiH“, says professor of constitutional law Mile Dmicic.
Dmicic concludes that any other action would be a violation of the basic position that neither the high representative nor the Constitutional Court of BiH has a formal legal role in any act, and primarily in the Constitution of BiH.
