The decision to grant EU candidate status to BiH was made on the understanding that specific steps are taken, in particular to strengthen the rule of law. The integrity of the Constitutional Court of BiH, as the highest judicial authority in BiH, should be protected and its decisions respected on all counts. Any pressure on the Constitutional Court is unacceptable.

The recent vote in the RSNA to prevent publication of the High Representative’s decisions in the RS Official Gazette is unconstitutional and without legal merit. Any law that would render Constitutional Court decisions inapplicable in Republika Srpska would similarly be unconstitutional and without legal merit.

The EU urges the entity parliaments to swiftly appoint the vacant judges to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to ensure the Court’s unimpeded functioning.

Solutions that would preserve institutional functionality need to be worked on urgently.