The letter states there are no more conclusions

Written by: Muharem Cero

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The benchmark of political events in Bosnia can be measured by steps towards and steps away from the Constitutional Court's ruling on agricultural land.

The reaction to this ruling was the scheduling of a special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, initiated by the BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik, and prepared and proposed by the President of Republika Srpska, Željka Cvijanović. It took place on February 17, 2020.

In preparation for the session, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nedeljko Čubrilović, in consultation with the leaders of parliamentary parties, both from the ruling coalition and the opposition, starting from Šarović to Borenović, agreed on eight points consolidated into conclusions, and achieved full consensus, which was reflected in their adoption.

Conclusion seven of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska reads: "The National Assembly of Republika Srpska obliges all institutions of Republika Srpska not to accept and not to implement any future anti-Dayton and undemocratic decisions of the High Representative and the Constitutional Court of BiH.".

The conclusion has been implemented and is being implemented with almost military obedience; every act coming from the office of the High Representative, as well as the Constitutional Court of BiH, has not been subject to consideration and determination according to it.

All interventions by the High Representative and decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH have not been published in the official gazettes of Republika Srpska, but have been ignored by implementing the conclusions, thereby the sub-state entity of Republika Srpska has exited the possibility of international action in that part of the state of BiH.

The conclusions, including this seventh one, were the subject of a constitutional appeal up to the level of the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska, which declared itself incompetent, interpreting it as a statement that it is not a legal act but an expression of political will that is non-binding.

In practice, this non-binding political will has halted the entire political life in BiH, and their obstructive effect has brought BiH institutions to a standstill for almost two years.

Only the High Representative's decision to address the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in writing and oblige it to annul the decisions on awarding commendations to war criminals (Karadžić, Plavšić, Krajišnik) has put the consequent sustainability of these conclusions to the test.

From the available statements so far regarding the intention to act on the letter's requests, it can be observed that almost all opposition parties in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska intend not to comply and to reject the High Representative's requests. This political stance is also shared, albeit somewhat vaguely, by the so-called ruling parties (SNSD with its satellites), although it is noticeable that there is no unified stance among the ruling coalition.

No matter how much this diversity reflects the internal political struggle ahead of the upcoming 2022 elections, the question remains whether, if and when a decision is made regarding the expressed obligation and the annulment of the adopted decisions on awards is approached, the act of their annulment will actually occur.

The reactions from the international community known so far, primarily from the EU Delegation and the US Embassy, give full support and encourage the members of parliament to vote in the name of the people who elected them, and not as delegates and puppets of their political party leaders, which will likely happen.

At the same time, an argument that could further sway the deputies to accept the annulment of the decision is the fact that any other political act could call into question the very survival of the entity of Republika Srpska, and in any case, could confront this entity with EU economic sanctions at a time when it is facing an already unannounced economic bankruptcy.