Sadiković: BiH must find a cure for this situation as soon as possible, I fear sanctions are not it

Lada Sadiković, Professor of Constitutional Law, stated that the transfer of competencies from the state level to the entity level represents not only a violation of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina but also an attack on the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Dodik calls the transfer of competencies an observance of the Constitution and a return to the "original Dayton," while experts see it as an undermining of the state's constitutional order. Are the conclusions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) concrete actions to undermine the constitutional order? Is Dodik within the scope of criminal offenses?

"I would explain this situation more broadly; it is not just an attack on the constitutional order. We are a country where peace is being implemented, and here we have a violation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace. The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) has rejected the NSRS conclusions. This is about endangering the implementation of peace in BiH. We see that the PIC is not just a few ambassadors but the world's largest organizations like OSCE, NATO, EUFOR, and also the OHR... The Federal Republic of Germany had a similar body to the PIC, where almost the same signatories sat as here. And that body was in effect for 45 years as a form of supervision and implementation of peace in Germany, which is today one of the most successful countries in the world. BiH must find a real cure for this situation as soon as possible, and I fear that sanctions are not it," Sadiković told N1.

Dodik invokes the BiH Constitution but does not respect the Constitutional Court?

"BiH relies on 4 pillars – the High Representative, international troops, Brčko District, and the fourth is the Constitutional Court. I would only refer to the latest PIC communiqué, which states that they retain the necessary instruments for the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace. The Venice Commission stated in 2005 that our institutions are very inefficient and weak, so it can be foreseen in advance that we will have to rely on the signatories of the Dayton Agreement.

The OHR, EUFOR, NATO, and the World Bank have stated that they protect the sovereignty of the state. They know what their instruments are, but I assume they are troops. What we will need is constitutional reform and alignment with the European Convention. In the document that is above our Constitution, there is no division of property anywhere, only that property can be given and its management supervised. Therefore, it is known who the owner is," said Sadiković.