The High Representative regrets that a majority of delegates in the RS National Assembly have adopted a proposal to organize a referendum on the state level judiciary and the authorities of the High Representative, which goes beyond the competences of the RSNA.
To ask citizens to vote against essential parts of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) is irresponsible and shows the readiness of a powerful elite to continue to drive the Republika Srpska and BiH into an ever deeper crisis.
In this regard, the High Representative would like to remind the public of two crucial points:
- The Laws on the BiH State Court in 2002 and on the Prosecutor’s Office in 2003 were adopted by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, including SNSD delegates. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court, itself a Dayton institution, has ruled twice in favour of the State Court’s legitimacy, constitutionality and compatibility with the DPA. The OHR would welcome efforts to make the State level Judiciary more efficient but underlines that any improvements must come again through the BH Parliamentary Assembly, a Dayton institution.
- The mandate, including the executive powers, of the High Representative as established by Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement and endorsed repeatedly by the United Nations Security Council is a crucial element of the peace agreement.
Entity authorities should desist in their pursuit of a referendum which is in violation of the GFAP and outside their jurisdiction and focus instead on delivering the promises they have made to voters to improve conditions within the Republika Srpska.