SARAJEVO, JULY 1 (ONASA) – The recent decisions of the NSRS directly violate the constitutional order of BiH, and therefore the Dayton Peace Agreement, which was made, perhaps too late, but with the intention of stopping the terrible war and crimes and what the citizens of this country endured for a very long time, our mandate is to ensure that such a thing never happens again, the entity assemblies do not have the authority to derogate from the provisions of the BiH Constitution and regulate the jurisdiction of key Dayton institutions such as the Constitutional Court of BiH, this is an attack on the Constitutional Court of BiH and an attempt to endanger the legal and constitutional framework of the country, including the key elements of Dayton, such as the decisions of the High Representative, High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt said at today’s press conference in Sarajevo.
He added that we should not forget who will bear the consequences of such inappropriate moves by the ruling coalition, the consequences are borne by the citizens of the RS.
He pointed out that he respects them as free citizens in a free state, like citizens throughout BiH, and they should not have a life dominated only by the everyday ideas of individuals in this country.
He believes that political representatives are trying to threaten the rule of law.
He decided that the law abolishing the obligation to revoke the decisions of the high representative in the Official of the RS will not enter into force.
“The law on non-implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the territory of the RS will not enter into force. All legislative procedures in the adoption of this law are also annulled,” said Schmidt.
It will also amend the Criminal Code.
“The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be amended in such a way that actions that violate the constitutional order of the country will be treated as a criminal offense, and these changes will provide a legal basis for prosecutors to take action. This was defined in such a way as not to affect the immunity of members of parliament. Those who violate the constitutional order must be prosecuted, they will bear the consequences for their actions. Let me give one caveat: All options are on the table! You know the spectrum of Bonn powers that I have at my disposal. All options are still on the table. I hope that the political actors will come to their senses”, said Schmidt.
He said that in the past period he met a lot of responsible politicians who are working to ensure that BiH achieves progress.
“It is not possible to reject such rules and laws and make your own decisions. All those who take such actions should come back to the table and talk and come to an agreement. Of course, it is difficult and will take time, but it is a process that is worth the effort if we come to joint decisions that everyone can rely on. I would like to mention that with my decisions I contribute to the fulfillment of one of the 14 priorities on the road to the EU – the implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now. I am doing this on behalf of those who submitted requests to the Constitutional Court and after that will probably turn to the European Court of Human Rights. “Citizens are not able to exercise their rights now if they cannot ask for their case to be resolved before the Constitutional Court,” said Schmidt.
He called on international partners to introduce new, targeted sanctions against those who threaten the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The system of European integration is a system that implies conversation and through it to find a solution that will be implemented. The international community, I am saying this for the sake of those who state untrue stories about the Dayton institutions and false claims about what the EU intends, the EU has a serious and sincere desire to bring Bosnia and Herzegovina within its framework. We do not question the internal structure of BiH, no one has made a decision regarding the existence of the entity. No! Entities are part of the Constitution and will be part of the Constitution until the parliaments and the citizens themselves decide that they will have some other organizational structure, that is, through democratic methods. I think that all RS citizens living in RS will benefit from the EU and will not be isolated as it is the case with Tranistria where you cannot travel. We need European integration as a goal, and I invite everyone to put aside these attempts that they have undertaken so far without any prejudices”, said Schmidt.
He said that he will not stop and that he will continue to protect the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rights of all its citizens.
The decisions, he said, will be announced immediately and will take effect immediately.
The address was announced for 14:00, but it was delayed by more than half an hour.
Officials from the RS ruling coalition said that the decisions of the high representative will not be implemented.