The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska has adopted changes in the law which imply that decisions by the high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina will no longer be recognized.
At a special session on June 21, lawmakers adopted changes to the Act on the Publication of Laws and other regulations as a matter of urgency. Fifty-four of 61 deputies present voted in favor of the changes; seven abstained.
Under current law, legal acts in the Republika Srpska enter into force when they are published in the official gazette, which publishes the acts passed by the highest authorities, including the high representative. The change in the law removes the high representative from the list of authorities whose acts are published by the gazette.
The latest move is seen as part of the secessionist efforts of certain Republika Srpska officials. It also defies the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War under which an international envoy was installed to oversee the implementation of peace.
Ethnic Serbs in Republika Srpska, who account for some 80 percent of the entity's population, say they do not recognize Christian Schmidt, because the UN Security Council did not endorse his appointment as the high representative in 2021.
China and Russia disputed his selection for the post because he was not confirmed by the council, but other nations said it was not required.
Under the Dayton accords, the high commissioner has the power to sack officials and impose laws as the final interpreter of the state constitution, though his decisions can be reviewed and questioned by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia.
"Today Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a High Representative. [Schmidt] is not the High Representative and this is the message from Republika Srpska," the entity's prime minister, Radovan Viskovic, told the parliament.
Earlier this week, Schmidt warned that the Serbs will face unspecified consequences if they break the terms of the peace deal by refusing to recognize his acts.
The Office of the High Representative warned that, by not publishing the decisions of the high representative," entity institutions and their employees are violating their obligations under the Dayton Agreement" for which they bear personal responsibility.
Signatories to the agreement, including the Republika Srpska "have the obligation to fully cooperate with the High Representative," the high representative said in a statement.
The Republika Srpska parliament's decision was supported by the Russian Embassy, which said that Schmidt was not legitimate in its view.
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the majority party in the entity, has close ties with Russia and on May 23 visited the Kremlin and spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.