This paper addresses seven myths propagated by the Office of the High Representative:
- The High Representative is the final authority to interpret the Dayton Accords, and his interpretation and related orders must therefore be obeyed by the parties to the Accords.
- The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) has legal authority over governments and institutions within BiH.
- The High Representative enjoys special “Bonn powers,” which give him authority to act by decree to remove and ban people from public employment/office, impose and annul laws and constitutional amendments, overturn Constitutional Court decisions and take other extraordinary measures.
- The High Representative and his office staff are immune from liability for damage and injury that results from their actions.
- The Constitution under the Dayton Accords was only intended to be temporary in order to end the war and did not create a political structure capable of establishing a viable state.
- EU accession requires constitutional reform to centralize the Government, as the High Representative often asserts.
- Without the OHR, BiH cannot function. The OHR is required to hold BiH together and prevent it from spiraling into instability and renewed conflict.
Read the paper here.
