The Ambassadors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council are deeply concerned about the ongoing failure to fill the vacancies on the Federation Constitutional Court and the Vital National Interest Panel to ensure their proper functioning. These steps are critically important to ensure the rule of law and that core institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina can function properly.

As the PIC Steering Board stated in its Communiqué of 30 November 2012, “A constructive approach by all parties is essential. To ensure the FBiH Constitutional Court's capacity to fulfil its constitutional role in this regard the PIC Steering Board urged the relevant authorities to fill the Court’s vacancies without further delay.”

We welcome the decision of the Federation President, with the concurrence of the two Vice Presidents, to appoint judges from among those approved by the HJPC in accordance with the Constitution and the law to fill the vacancies on the Federation Constitutional Court. The House of Peoples of the Federation Parliament must now vote on the proposed nominees in the shortest possible time. 

Given the four year failure to meet this most basic of requirements, we expect the institutions of the Federation to work without delay to fulfil this core responsibility under the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.