The legal representative of Republika Srpska, Lazar Stjepanović, emphasized that the Office of the High Representative (OHR), with or without the Bonn powers, will not survive if the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues. “That office will have to be closed because no European country operates this way, with such an institution within it,” stated Stjepanović.

According to him, over the past 30 years, the High Representatives have excessively abused the so-called Bonn powers. “When you read them, it’s clear that they don’t give the High Representative any legal authority to actually change laws and the Constitution, and ultimately suspend such acts as was done in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Stjepanović told “Glas Srpske.”

On the other hand, he added, Republika Srpska did not have any mechanism to resist all of this, as it was able to function this way with the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western powers.

“From a legal perspective, these powers never gave high-ranking representatives the ability to change laws, and that’s exactly what they did,” said Stjepanović.

He also stressed that the latest statements by Republika Srpska officials call for a return to the framework of the Dayton Agreement, including Annex 10, which pertains to the mandate of the OHR.