OPEN LETTER OF CIRCLE 99 – THE PEACE IMPLEMENTATION COUNCIL
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE STEERING BOARD OF
THE PEACE IMPLEMENTATION COUNCIL
Cc:
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
European Court of Human Rights
The public of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, September 23, 2024.
Respected Excellencies,
Members Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council,
On the occasion of the information that the High Representative Christian Schmidt will appear before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, Association of independent intellectuals Circle 99 expresses its protest through this open letter addressed to the members of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board and the democratic public of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 2 of Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace adopted in Dayton clearly defines the competences of the High Representative.
Our address is based on Annex 10, Article 1, where it is clearly stated that the work and competence of the High Representative is the implementation of the civilian aspect of the Dayton Peace Agreement inside of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not outside it and especially not on the international political scene. Circle 99, in addition to providing true and complete facts, also expresses serious warnings about mistakes in the actions of the High Representative, especially his attempt to violate the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Rule of Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With that aim in mind, we point out the following facts:
- The High Representative (HR) C. Schmidt, in accordance with Annex 10 Article II, does not have the authority to interfere in disputes brought by individuals, citizens, before the European Court of Human Rights against Bosnia and Herzegovina for the violation of individual human rights prescribed by the European Convention on the
- Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms nor he has competence which gives him possibility to appear as a party in any dispute before international courts.
- High Representative Christian Schmidt was not authorized or invited by any party in the proceedings! In accordance with Rule 44 of the Rules of Court named – Third-party intervention in conjunction with Article 34 of the Convention: The Court may receive applications from any person, non-governmental organisation or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation by one of the High Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in the Convention or the protocols thereto.
The High Contracting Parties undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right. - In the proceedings before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of dr. Slaven Kovačević vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt requested from the Court, without the knowledge of the members of the Peace Implementation Council, to hear him as a Third party in the proceedings through a British law firm, which is scandalous and paradoxical. Based on the above, the question arises in what capacity is C. Schmidt addressing the European Court of Human Rights in the Kovačević case? With whose approval is he doing that and at whose expense?
- The High Representative should know that the civil aspect of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH is not protected by consolidating and strengthening ethnic divisions and by attempting to relativize or abolish final judgments, by so the European Court of Human Rights itself is thus degraded.
In the judgments “Sejdić-Finci case law”, more precisely in the judgment Zornić vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court concludes: …The finding of a violation in the present case was a direct result of the authorities’ failure to introduce measures to ensure compliance with the judgment given by the Grand Chamber in Sejdić and Finci. The failure of the respondent State to introduce constitutional and legislative proposals to put an end to the current incompatibility of the Constitution and the electoral law with the Convention was an aggravating factor as regards the State’s responsibility under the Convention.
In Article 43 of the aforementioned judgment, the Court concludes: “…when the impugned constitutional provisions were put in place a very fragile ceasefire was in effect on the ground and that the provisions were designed to end a brutal conflict marked by genocide and “ethnic cleansing”. The nature of the conflict was such that the approval of the “constituent peoples” was necessary to ensure peace (ibid.). However, now, more than eighteen years after the end of the tragic conflict, there could no longer be any reason for the maintenance of the contested constitutional provisions…”.
Simply explained, changing or abolishing the Kovačević judgment calls into question all other judgments from the Sejdić-Finci case law, as well as their implementation.
Also, in Annex III of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Article 4 – The right to vote – clearly states: Any citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina aged 18 or older whose name appears on the 1991 census for Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be eligible, in accordance with electoral rules and regulations, to vote. It follows from the above that no priority is given to ethnic groups as a collectivity, but this right is given equally to all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
C. Schmidt invited himself to Strasbourg! He requests to be a “third party – intervention” in the proceedings, but not to appear as a “Friend of the Court” in the case of Dr. Kovačević. The
official announcement given by the OHR that they were invited as “friend of the court” is an absolute lie. This has a direct effect on Bosnia and Herzegovina being trapped in the gap between ethno-politics and regressing in its democratic development. C. Schmidt thereby helps the ahistorical idea of ”legitimate representation of an ethnic communities” which he wants to use as a concept of the electoral law. This is completely against his mandate!
What can High Representative Schmidt say about the judgement in the case of Dr. Kovačević? Does he try to testify that Bosnians enjoy discrimination and apartheid? Croatian Prime Minister A. Plenković's statements that he personally and lobbied the High Representative regarding the adoption of undemocratic changes to the Constitution and Election Law of the Federation of BiH have been known for a long time. Is C. Schmidt in the role entrusted to him by Croatian Prime Minister A. Plenković this time as well? Is he worried about his position after the decisions that he imposed created a mess in the complex electoral system of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The question of non-implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and non-compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina is justified. It seems, unfortunately, that C. Schmidt himself is not trying to implement these judgments or the recommendations of the Venice Commission at all. The Bosnian public should receive information from C. Schmidt on all these issues. The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve to be truthfully informed about his work on developing the democratic order.
It is unacceptable that the High Representative fulfills the wishes and orders of Croatian politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He would have to be fully committed to work on the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state with the rule of law, and not play the role of a colonial governor who does dubious business for the sake of some hegemonic projects.
The High Representative is responsible to the citizens of BiH for his actions, which he must justify in a reasonable and logical manner. Without it, it becomes a nightmare of our social and political life!
Because of his visible bias towards ethnic politics, which is the perception of the vast majority of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we believe that the time has come for the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board to consider whether Christian Schmidt is the right person for the position of High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We believe that with this open letter we are contributing to the implementation of the civilian aspect of the Peace Agreement, expecting rightfully that the members of the PIC Steering Board members will consider the allegations of this letter and undertake appropriate steps.
With expressions of our deepest respect,
Adil Kulenović,
President of the Circle 99
