Christian Schmidt, the High Representative, began his term on August 1, 2021, and made a series of decisions that affected the political dynamics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many of these decisions sparked strong public reactions and remain matters of dispute to this day.
In 2022, Schmidt made several decisions aimed at ensuring the General Elections were held, but the most significant consequences resulted from the so-called election night imposition, which, according to political analysts, favored ethno-national politics.
In April 2022, Schmidt suspended the Law on Immovable Property of Republika Srpska, halting the implementation of the entity law until the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina made a decision, in order to prevent the registration of state property under the entity’s ownership.
Due to deadlocks at the state level, the financing and implementation of the 2022 General Elections were called into question. Schmidt resolved this by imposing a decision to allocate 12.5 million BAM to the Central Election Commission and by amending the Law on Financing of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which enabled permanent funding for elections and prevented future political blockades.
In July 2022, Schmidt again invoked the so-called Bonn Powers to enforce technical changes to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed at enhancing the integrity of the electoral process. This granted the CEC greater authority to sanction violations of election rules, such as hate speech and abuse of public resources, and clarified the rules regarding the trading of polling station committee seats.
Of all Schmidt’s decisions in 2022, the most attention-grabbing and controversial was imposed on election night, when, immediately after the polling stations closed, Schmidt amended the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Election Law. The stated aim of these decisions was to unblock the functioning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The number of delegates in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was increased from 58 to 80 (from 17 to 23 delegates from each constituent people, and from 7 to 11 from the Others). The method for electing the President and Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was changed, and strict deadlines were introduced for appointing the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and judges of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These changes did not withstand the test of time, as it became clear that the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina could still fail to be appointed, which put Schmidt in a difficult position. The decisions intended to unblock the functioning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not effective.
The Year 2023
In 2023, for that reason, on April 27, Schmidt made a decision that enabled the appointment of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but this caused lasting resentment among some political representatives from the Bosniak community.
Schmidt issued a one-time decision that “replaced” the signature of the Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Bosniak group, thereby enabling the appointment of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2023, Schmidt again suspended the Law on Immovable Property of Republika Srpska.
In July 2023, Schmidt annulled the Republika Srpska laws on the non-application of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-publication of OHR decisions, and amended the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the amendments, non-compliance with the High Representative’s decisions became a criminal offense punishable by six months to five years in prison, with automatic removal from office. These amendments formed the basis for the criminal prosecution and conviction of Milorad Dodik, who was subsequently removed from the position of President of Republika Srpska following a decision by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although they rhetorically refused to accept Christian Schmidt’s authority, authorities in Republika Srpska implemented his decisions.
The article of the law regarding “Attack on the constitutional order” was amended. The phrase “physical force” was removed, thereby criminalizing the undermining of the constitutional order (including unblocking the Constitutional Court) through illegal laws, not solely by force of arms.
The Year 2024
In March 2024, Schmidt imposed new amendments to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which included the introduction of modern technologies, biometrics, and electronic vote counting.
The depoliticization of polling committees and a strict prohibition on candidacy for persons convicted of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity were also introduced.
By the end of this year, Schmidt imposed decisions that unblocked the payment of salaries and legally enabled the functioning of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as six other state cultural institutions.
The Year 2025
In January 2025, the conclusions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, which aimed to challenge the legitimacy of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and were adopted under the pressure of Milorad Dodik’s trial, were annulled.
The payment of the debt to Viaduct, following the arbitration that Republika Srpska lost to this Slovenian company, amounting to more than 100 million BAM with default interest accruing daily, became a key issue in the spring and early summer of 2025. Due to the non-payment of the debt, the seizure of state property was imminent, threatening the functioning of BIHANSA, whose funds were placed under blockade.
Through his decision, Schmidt utilized unallocated revenues from road excises that had been blocked in the single account for years, totaling approximately 316 million BAM in blocked reserves.
The High Representative ordered that around 120 million BAM belonging to Republika Srpska be taken and transferred to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, exclusively for the settlement of the Viaduct claims.
Christian Schmidt’s term caused political controversies, and its consequences will be felt in the future, but he played a key role in unblocking several processes vital to the functioning of the state. The amendments to the Election Law should lead to fairer elections, and at least the technical conditions for financing elections during political blockades have been secured.
He also ensured the possibility of unblocking cultural institutions of state importance and protected the interests of the state in the Viaduct case.
His political decisions caused even more controversy, but they also resulted in Milorad Dodik facing judicial accountability and being removed from office following decisions by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, time will tell whether Christian Schmidt’s most significant decision was the one he did not make regarding the state property of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
