The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued an indictment against the president of the Republika Srpska on Friday for failing to execute the decisions of the High Representative to annul a law undermining the power of the constitutional court.

The Office of the High Representative welcomed the indictment and called on all citizens and officials to respect the law. On the other hand, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, countered that the indictment has no legal basis and represents political violence and Serbophobia facilitated by Americans.

On June 27, the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) passed a controversial law to disregard decisions from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional court. Proposing this new law, Dodik claimed that the constitutional court violated the Constitution for their decision to delete Article 39 of the court’s rules. This article provided for the postponement of the session when at least one judge elected by the Republika Srpska National Assembly is not present. The RSNA has failed to nominate a new candidate to fill the vacancy despite multiple warnings from the court. Dodik has been calling the Serb judge to withdraw from the court. Rebutting Dodik’s allegation, the Constitutional Court released a statement, claiming that the decision is necessary to prevent any institutions from attempting to paralyze the court.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country comprised of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, which mainly contain ethnic Bosniaks and Serbs respectively. Formed in 1995, the Office of the High Representative’s responsibility is to oversee the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement in the country. However, Dodik has on repeated occasions claimed that the High Representative has no jurisdiction in BiH because the adoption of the relevant UN Security Council resolution did not happen. Dodik has also been actively calling for the independence of the Republika Srpska.