The Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and BiH Constitution are conclusive about the primacy of both the Constitution and the Constitutional Court of BiH. The DPA clearly states in Annex 4, Article 3 that “Entities and subdivisions thereof shall comply fully with this Constitution, which supersedes inconsistent provisions of the law of BiH and of the constitutions and law of the Entities, and with the decisions of the institutions of BiH.” All legislation and conclusions adopted by lower-level bodies – including the parliamentary bodies of both entities – must comply with the Constitution, in line with BiH Constitutional Court jurisprudence. Further, neither entity has the authority to challenge the primacy of BiH institutions or laws. The conclusions adopted by the RSNA last night constitute a serious threat to the country’s constitutional order and as such are anti-Dayton and directly undermine the authority of state-level rule of law institutions and BiH’s Euro-Atlantic path.

At a time where formal opening of EU accession negotiations has never been so close, a return to political blockades would have negative consequences for all citizens of BiH, a majority of whom support EU accession.

We, the Embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy, along with the European Union Delegation to BiH and the EU Special Representative in BiH, reiterate our support for BiH’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and multiethnic character, and for the High Representative, who, in accordance with his authority under the DPA / Annex X, holds the responsibility as the final interpreter of the civilian aspects of the DPA.