The government of Republika Srpska (RS) has expressed what it terms “serious objections” to the latest order issued by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), which purports to suspend the recent decisions of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ORH issued this order on 27 March 2011, three days after the CEC ruled that the process by which the new government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) had been formed was illegal. The OHR’s order essentially nullified the CEC’s decision and put the illegally formed government in place. This decision was immediately supported by the international community’s Peace Implementation Council (PIC).
According to the RS government, the High Representative’s decision “violates fundamental provisions of the BiH Constitution, Federation law and judicial decisions, BiH law, the Dayton Peace Accords, and international law. It sets aside the international community’s stated policies with respect to the formation of BiH’s governments. It is a further assault on judicial independence in BiH. And it is a destabilizing attack on vital protections for BiH Constituent Peoples.” The government of RS called upon the HR and the PIC to reverse their decisions immediately.
While it rarely takes a position on Federation matters, the RS government says that this decision has a direct impact on RS as well. Because the new FBiH government is illegal, the government of RS is obligated by the BiH constitution not to recognize it. This state of affairs impedes the work of many of BiH’s joint institutions. More broadly, the HR’s blatant disregard for the constitution imperils “the very foundations of the state established by the Dayton Accords,” according to the government.
The HR’s actions in this case are part of a long-standing practice of issuing illegal decrees and interfering with the affairs of entity and state governing bodies. Like previous OHR decrees, this one claims to be above judicial review, and can only be altered or repealed by the High Representative himself.
While purporting to refer the matter the BiH Constitutional Court, the HR’s decision undermines the judicial system by sending a clear message to the court as to the HR’s wishes in this case, according the RS government. The OHR has a long history of interfering with the BiH judiciary, and has previously barred the courts from issuing any decision that contradicts an OHR decree.
As a matter of law, the High Representative has no executive, legislative, or judicial role in the governance of BiH. But holders of this position have made a habit of issuing decrees and nullifying laws and court decisions. The HR’s order nullifying the decision of the CEC is the latest egregious example of this. Such actions cannot be supported without making a mockery of democracy and the rule of law or without destabilizing BiH’s future, said the RS government.
