BiH Constitutional Court Judge Knezevic has been exposed to unacceptable pressure by irresponsible politicians from Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, High Representative Christian Schmidt said Saturday.

Undermining the independence of any justice goes against the fundamentals of the rule of law and is an anti-constitutional act, Schmidt said.

“The High Representative urges delegates to the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) to cease the campaign of pressure against Judge Knezevic and the Court and to fulfil their obligation to uphold the BiH Constitution. Attacks on judicial independence violate the rule of law and the BiH Constitution, “ he noted.

The Venice Commission expressed “serious concern” on Friday over the call of the RS National Assembly addressed to the Vice President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zlatko Knezevic, to resign.

“It is a fundamental guarantee of the independence of the Constitutional Court that its members cannot be recalled, dismissed, nor can they be asked to resign on political grounds by those who appointed them,” the Venice Commission stated and called on the RSNA to withdraw their call for Knezevic’s resignation.

Zlatko Knezevic is the only judge from the RS in the BiH Constitutional Court. He confirmed for Glas Srpska daily that he will apply for early retirement and expects that procedure to be completed by the end of the year.

Two seats are already vacant in the Constitutional Court after Mate Tadic and Miodrag Simovic left the Constitutional Court when they became eligible for retirement. Their successors have not yet been appointed by the Parliament of the Federation (FBiH) entity and the RSNA.