Pursuant to the authority invested in me under Annex 10 to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in consultation with the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Robert Barry, I, hereby establish an Independent Experts Commission to prepare a draft Election Law as agreed to by Annex III of the GFAP.
- The said Election Law shall provide for a Permanent Election Commission with the responsibility to conduct future elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina as agreed to by the Parties in Annex 3, Article V to the GFAP.
- Particular attention shall be paid by the Independent Experts Commission to the “Declaration of the Ministerial Meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council” adopted in Luxembourg on 9 June 1998, that stressed the need to accelerate the on-going drafting of the above mentioned Election Law.
- The draft Election Law shall fully comply with the “Document of the Second Meeting of the Conference on Human Dimension of the Security and Co-operation in Europe”, Copenhagen, 1990, ( the attachment to Annex 3 on Elections).
- The Commission shall be an independent body and shall be comprised of seven national experts appointed by the High Representative, a designee of the High Representative who will chair the Commission and his/her deputy and a designee of the OSCE Head of Mission and his/her deputy.
- The High Representative shall designate an international advisory body to ensure that the draft Election Law fully complies with international norms and standards.
- This Commission shall cease to exist at a time to be determined by the High Representative but not earlier than the adoption of the draft Permanent Law by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sarajevo on 1 August, 1998.
Carlos Westendorp
High Representative