UNLAWFULLY IMPOSED "LAWS" OF HIGH REPRESENTATIVES MUST BE ANNULLED

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 30 /SRNA/ - It is high time to restore the rule of law in BiH by annulling the "laws" that High Representatives imposed through their decisions instead of having them adopted by legislative bodies, as provided for by the BiH Constitution, the Republika Srpska Government said in its report to the UN Security Council.

The document stresses that every law imposed by a High Representative represents a flagrant and continuing violation of BiH`s democratic constitutional order.

The report notes that the BiH Constitution establishes BiH as a democratic country operating under the rule of law and on the basis of free and democratic elections, and that only the BiH Parliamentary Assembly has the authority to pass laws at the BiH level.

"Likewise, in accordance with the BiH Constitution, the constitutions of the two entities entrust lawmaking exclusively to the democratic institutions they designate. Therefore, in BiH`s constitutional order, lawmaking is a competence reserved for parliaments, the democratic institutions designated by the Constitution, and there is no exception to this rule, not even for foreign diplomats with grand titles," the report says.

Annex 10, which defines the powers and functions of the High Representative in detail, contains not a single word or expression that would even hint that he has such unlimited authority to impose laws or otherwise make decisions binding on BiH or its citizens.

The Republika Srpska Government`s document adds that it is widely accepted, even among former High Representatives, that the laws they imposed were unlawful from the very beginning.

As an illustration, the report cites the first High Representative, Carl Bildt, who wrote: "The legal basis /of the High Representative`s alleged Bonn powers/ is highly questionable".

It also mentions Carlos Westendorp, the first High Representative to assume the power to impose laws, who later said of that power: "I have to admit it wasn`t exactly legal".

The report states that every law imposed by a High Representative is a gross violation of BiH`s sovereignty.

Sovereignty implies the legal independence of a state, including its right to manage its own affairs independently and to exercise supreme authority over its territory, without subordination to another state or any external authority.

"It is obvious that the continued validity of `laws` imposed by an unelected foreign diplomat represents an unprecedented violation of BiH`s sovereignty. Finally, the existence of laws in BiH imposed by the High Representative is a flagrant and continuing violation of the right of BiH citizens to free elections, guaranteed by Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which, under the BiH Constitution, apply directly in BiH," the report says.

The document reminds that in 2005, the Council of Europe`s European Commission for Democracy through Law /Venice Commission/ condemned the High Representative`s assumption of the power to impose laws through decisions, while representatives of the European Commission made it clear that such an unlawful violation of BiH's sovereign rights is incompatible with EU values and EU membership.

The report points out that until the High Representatives` unlawful decisions are annulled, or adopted as laws by the competent legislative bodies without coercion, such "laws" will remain a continuing violation of BiH`s democratic constitutional order, the Dayton Agreement, BiH`s sovereignty and the human rights of its citizens.

"Republika Srpska is not alone in demanding that the High Representative`s unlawful decisions be annulled. The HDZ BiH, whose president Dragan Čović recently said his party remains a `strong partner` to the ruling party in Republika Srpska, has joined Republika Srpska in calling for their annulment," the report says.

Republika Srpska believes, the document says, that domestic institutions assuming full responsibility for governing the country, and fully entrusting political and legislative processes to the elected representatives of all three constituent peoples, will contribute to institutional maturity and steer the country towards stability and prosperity.

"Reaffirming its commitment to peace and security, Republika Srpska is ready to cooperate with all domestic and international actors who respect the Dayton Agreement. The BiH Constitution, agreed after painstaking negotiations in Dayton more than 30 years ago, is the only sustainable framework for achieving these goals, and Republika Srpska calls on all actors to reaffirm their commitment to its consistent implementation," the report says.