SDA: We Do Not Accept the Ultimatum of Dodik and Čović Regarding Foreign Judges in the Constitutional Court of BiH

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - SDA does not accept the ultimatum of Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović, demanding the adoption of a state law whose sole function would be the removal of foreign judges from the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the SDA announced today, as reported by the Patria News Agency.

"We also call on representatives of the international community not to fall for Dodik's blackmail regarding the Constitutional Court, accompanied by false promises. We remind that Dodik created the same crisis scenario back in 2009, demanding that the mandate for foreign prosecutors and judges in the BiH judiciary not be extended, while promising in return the unblocking of institutions and political stability. The only result of the concessions made at that time, which Dodik interpreted as a sign of weakness by the international community, was even greater political destabilization and a permanent crisis, which from 2009 to the present day has been continuously maintained by unilateral moves from the RS entity," the SDA stated.

The decision to withdraw foreign prosecutors and judges had fatal consequences for the judiciary itself, which from an independent and functional pillar of government became a politically dependent and corrupt body, currently seen by citizens and in all relevant analyses as the biggest obstacle to legal security and the development of BiH society.

"Repeating the same scenario in the case of foreign judges in the Constitutional Court, instead of political stability and the rule of law, would produce even more radical political instability and legal chaos, and SDA will not allow that. The only correct response to the newly emerged crisis is a unified and decisive message from the international community to Dodik that he will gain nothing through ultimatums, and that he will face severe consequences, based on the principle of individual responsibility, if he decides to continue creating a crisis through unilateral moves," the statement said.