Return to the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and
| Krug 99 – Circle 99 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Statement of 22. March 2025 – 58 Statement of Krug 99 on the Return to the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The decades-long, incremental separatist strategy of undermining the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with the demolition of the existing constitutional order and the Dayton Peace Agreement in its entirety, has undoubtedly reached an overt and aggressive phase of accelerated and blatant secession of the entity Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The recent adoption of the laws that undermine the fundamental instruments and institutions of a sovereign state underscores this separatist goal. Milorad Dodik’s government has abandoned the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). Despite rulings of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the positions of numerous international actors, as well as witnesses to the DPA, the creation of a de facto state of institutional paralysis and conflict threatens to escalate into armed conflict. Such a state of affairs is not in the interest of any reasonable citizen or any well-intentioned resident of Bosnia and Herzegovina! It is imperative that we acknowledge that the division of our country into two entities has proven to be a failed experiment. Furthermore, that division has been the cause of the destruction of our society as it has rendered the state dysfunctional. The concept of a state of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprised of two entities and three constituent peoples has been and continues to be a formula not only for ethnic division within the country but also one that encourages the expansionist ethno-territorial aspirations and hegemonism of both Serbia and Croatia. This situation must change! Faced with a choice between peace and a renewed armed conflict, we have the right to seek a different constitutional and territorial organization for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the previous one has failed. A solution to this situation is envisioned by virtue of a return to the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The right to reinstate that Constitution was legitimized by the adoption of the Constitutional Law on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 12, 1995, and was voted on by the legal Assembly of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Article 1 of the Constitution states that the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, exercising its sovereign rights, may change its internal organization in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the framework of the International Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, Article 2 of the same Law clearly defines the solution and obligations in case of a possible failure to abide by the Dayton Peace Agreement, as in the current situation. In such circumstances, if “the International Peace Agreement and its Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina are not being implemented,” the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina may declare the International Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina null and void and proceed as an internationally recognized, sovereign, and independent state, as outlined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Krug 99 urges the current members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, existing as a continuation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to appropriately analyze the current state of affairs involving the effective withdrawal of Republika Srpska from the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They should accordingly initiate the necessary procedures and adopt a Decision on returning to the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ** Adil Kulenović, president |
| Association of Independent Intellectuals – Circle 99 (Bosnian: Krug 99), a leading Bosnian think-tank, was established in Sarajevo in 1993, in the midst of the Bosnian war (1992-1995), while the capital was under siege. Circle 99 provides a platform to bring together intellectuals of various professional and ethnic identities; university professors, members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, diplomats, and other prominent figures from Bosnia and from abroad. Multidisciplinary discussions and initiatives are held each Sunday throughout the academic year, in the form of regular sessions about politics, science, education, culture, economy, and other societal issues. The overall goal is to sensitize the public towards a democratic transformation, achieving and maintaining peace, and integration of modern Bosnia into the community of countries fostering liberal democracy. Circle 99 has been declared an organization of special significance for the city of Sarajevo. |
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