Raffi Gregorian Attends Final Public Debate on Brcko Constitutional Amendment

“The constitutional amendment completes the process started under Annex 2, which called for binding arbitration on the dispute in the Brcko area, and will help create conditions that will allow me to inform the Tribunal that the Final Award has been implemented,” said Acting High Representative (AHR) and Supervisor of Brcko, Dr Raffi Gregorian today.

The AHR and Brcko Supervisor was speaking in Sarajevo at the last public debate on the amendment to the BiH Constitution. This amendment adds Brcko District to the BiH Constitution, as defined by the Tribunal’s awards, and provides the District effective, direct access to the Constitutional Court, while ensuring that no party can change the status or powers of the District as defined by the Arbitral Awards. It also continues to permit two other avenues for bringing a dispute to the Constitutional Court regarding Brcko.

In his address Dr Gregorian underlined that the amendment defines the District’s powers and status on the basis of the various awards of the Arbitral Tribunal and it does not change the status of the Brcko District or BiH in any way.

“The proposed constitutional amendment on Brcko is the result of significant discussions among a broad spectrum of parties,” said Gregorian. “It has the unanimous support of all 31 councillors of the Brcko District Assembly, he said”

Noting that both the US Government and the PIC Steering Board have endorsed the proposed amendment, the AHR and Brcko Supervisor reminded the BiH Parliamentary Assembly of the call for the amendment to be adopted as a matter of urgency issued by the Peace Implementation Council’s Steering Board in November last year.

“By adopting this amendment you will help Brcko guarantee its multiethnic structures while making progress towards BiH’s European perspective,” Gregorian concluded today.