SELAK: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATION FOR SRPSKA PROTECTION

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 23 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Minister of Justice Goran Selak told SRNA that the establishment of the Republika Srpska National Assembly represents the historical, legal, and institutional foundation for protecting Srpska within the constitutional and legal order established by the Dayton Peace Agreement, stressing that, amid contemporary challenges, this institution is becoming the most important shield for Srpska's autonomy.

Marking the 35th anniversary of the Srpska National Assembly, Selak said that October 24, 1991, was a significant date that bears witness to the institutionalization of the people's will through the highest legislative body, which built and preserved the constitutional system of Republika Srpska.

He stressed that tomorrow's commemoration of this important date in Pale, as the place where Republika Srpska's institutional framework took shape, carries deep symbolic significance.

"It reminds us that stable and functional institutions, with the National Assembly at their head, are the only lasting guarantee of the protection of constitutional rights, legal certainty, and the survival of Srpska," Selak said.

The establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH on October 24, 1991, created the institutional legitimacy for making political and legal decisions, Selak said.

Selak particularly highlighted the contribution of the entity parliament to establishing the legal framework for the judiciary through the adoption of important legislation, including the Law on Courts and the Law on Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Republika Srpska.

"The National Assembly established a framework for an independent, impartial, and efficient judiciary, ensuring legal certainty for our citizens and the continuous alignment of local legislation with the highest standards of the rule of law," Selak stated.

Selak noted that, amid contemporary challenges, international pressure, and open attempts to seize powers originally guaranteed to Republika Srpska under the Dayton Peace Agreement, the National Assembly is becoming the most important shield for the entity's autonomy.

"Republika Srpska will not relinquish its rights guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement. Every attempt at legal coercion and the centralization of BiH will meet with a firm institutional response," Selak declared.

He identified the forthcoming developing of a new Republika Srpska Constitution as the most important democratic and constitutional task in the coming period, describing it as the highest expression of popular sovereignty.

"The new Constitution will ensure lasting protection of the complex structure of BiH, strengthen our legal order, and define mechanisms for defending the rights of Republika Srpska and the Serb constituent people," Selak emphasized.

The National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the highest constitutional and legislative body within the governance structure of Srpska and the central institution of its parliamentary system, was established in Sarajevo on October 24, 1991, as the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH.