If Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity were to adopt the RS Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), it would return the country to the period of twenty years ago, when the Law on the HJPC BiH was not adopted, HJPC BiH President Halil Lagumdzija said on Wednesday, adding that he called on the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina to react.

“The adoption of the Law would mean the collapse of this system, it would mean going back 20 years. That would mean the interruption of BiH's European path,” Lagumdzija said.

The head of the HJPC BiH clarified that in the BiH legal system there is no possibility of appealing to the Constitutional Court until the law enters into force, and according to the present document, this could happen only a year after its adoption, which means that there is no legal remedy in the legal system that could be applied before the expiration of that period.

“I told the High Representative that it would be disastrous to wait for the law to enter into force,” Lagumdzija said, adding that he respected the BiH Constitutional Court.

The HJPC BiH is the country's top judicial institution that appoints and sanctions judges and prosecutors in BiH.

“In that situation, the High Representative should use his powers at the RS Assembly session and put it out of force, as if it had not been passed,” Lagumdzija said, adding that it was unbelievable that the Constitutional Court could not discuss it for a year.

He added that this was his personal view and the position of the HJPC BiH presidency. The HJPC President concluded that this is not something that depends on the HJPC BiH, but on the executive and legislative authorities.