The President of Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik has signed a contradictory law regarding the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced his cabinet.

According to the enacted law, the decisions of the High Representative will no longer be published in this entity.

Dodik signed the legislation despite the fact that High Representative Christian Schmidt invalidated the entire legislative procedure for this issue with his decision on 1 July. The law was approved by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in June. In addition to this law, the entity’s Parliament has also adopted a law stating that the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be implemented.

Usually, laws come into force eight days after their publication in the Official Gazette, but the entity’s Parliament has voted for the laws to come into force one day after their publication.

The Bosnian Club in the Council of Peoples in Republika Srpska vetoed the two legislations on 4 July because, according to Schmidt’s decision, these “laws no longer exist”.

Before the decree is signed, which makes the laws enforceable, they must be approved by the Council of Peoples, which is a mechanism to protect the vital national interests of the ethnic groups living in Bosnia: Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats.

Dodik, one of the initiators of the contradictory legal initiatives, previously stated that the entity of Republika Srpska will not accept Schmidt’s decisions.

Officials from Republika Srpska, led by Dodik, have consistently questioned Schmidt’s legitimacy since he assumed the mandate, as his appointment to the United Nations Security Council was opposed by China and Russia.

Other states on the Security Council have stated that it is unnecessary for this body to vote on the appointment of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.