The United Nations Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR BiH) Tuesday issued an order halting the application of the Law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of Public Authorities.

The UN established the OHR BiH at the end of the Bosnian War through the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The treaty enables the High Representative to make any “binding decisions” they deem necessary to maintain peace. Christian Schmidt, current High Representative, issued a statement explaining his decision.

Bosnia and Herzegovina are made up of two autonomous regions: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. Bosnian Serb leaders in Republika Srpska have attracted international criticism for endorsing separatist and nationalist movements.

On February 10, the legislature of Republika Srpska passed the Law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of Public Authorities. According to Schmidt, the law ignores previous rulings of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Schmidt believes that the application of the law would make it “impossible to achieve an acceptable and sustainable solution to the issue of state property” because it establishes new property rights and “questions the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the holder of state property, as well as the exclusive competence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to regulate the issue of state property.”

The order took effect immediately and the law is suspended until the Constitutional Court makes a final ruling.