The decision to ban the denial of genocide, imposed by the former High Representative Valentin Inzko before the end of his term, has provocatively created problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina and led it into a crisis that is still ongoing, estimated Professor of Constitutional Law from Salzburg Michael Geistlinger. As an Austrian and Inzko’s compatriot, he apologized to the citizens of the Republic of Srpska and BiH, saying that BiH may only survive if the international community respects the positions of the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of BiH.

The former High Representative Valentin Inzko flagrantly violated the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e., the Annex No. 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement, and his office, because he appropriated competencies he was not entitled to when he imposed his decision, said Geistlinger during a lecture on the subject “The Constitution of BiH and Dayton” at the Academy of Arts and Sciences of the Republic of Srpska. In doing so, Geistlinger said, Inzko led BiH into a massive political crisis.

“As an Austrian, I would like to personally apologize for the fact that an Austrian made such a decision and massively violated both the Constitution of the Republic of Srpska and all other constitutional categories of the Constitution of BiH,” emphasized Michael Geistlinger, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Salzburg.

The reaction of the Republic of Srpska following Inzko’s decision was completely justified and the only way to protect itself from the decision, said Geistlinger. It is devastating, he said, that High Representatives have made 60 decisions which, in fact, changed the Constitution.

“In international law, this type of protectorate in BiH is a kind of a one-person dictatorship, and I believe it should go back to the original written word and the original Dayton,” added Geistlinger.

Professor Geistlinger is one of the foremost constitutional law theorists in Europe, which is why it is important that he recognized the problems in BiH, said the Academy of Arts and Sciences of the Republic of Srpska. It is also important to hear the message that Srpska only wants a consistent application of the Constitution, without improvisation and imposition.