Bosnian Serbs to vote on state court system
Photo © James Steidl - Fotolia
(SARAJEVO) - Legislators in Bosnia's semi-autonomous Serb entity on Wednesday backed the holding of a referendum on whether to continue to recognise the state court system, Fena news agency said.
Of the Republika Srpska's 83 MPs, 45 voted in favour of the referendum, which should take place within 50 days of the decision's entry into force.
The Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina together make up the Balkan state, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The two entities have been joined together since the 1992-1995 war by weak centralised institutions.
Bosnia's tribunal and prosecution were created in 2002 and 2003 by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the Dayton Agreement that ended the war.
The two institutions were set up to process war crimes and organised crime cases.
Republika Srpska's President Milorad Dodik threatened in 2011 to hold a referendum in the Serb territory questioning the central justice system's legitimacy, but was held back by pressure from the international community.
While the international community and the Muslim majority in Bosnia support a strong central government, Serbs in the country prefer a decentralised authority.