DMIČIĆ: NO LAW OR COURT RULING CAN CHANGE HISTORICAL FACTS

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 9 /SRNA/ - No law, constitutional-court ruling or any other decision or act can change the historical and political decisions and facts related to the time and circumstances of the establishment and proclamation of Republika Srpska, as a permanent constitutional, legal, historical and political category, Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Banja Luka Mile Dmičić told SRNA.

"Republika Srpska will permanently mark and celebrate January 9 - the Day of Republika Srpska," Dmičić stressed. He pointed out that January 9 has a meaning for the Serbian people far broader than a mere legal or political act, as it symbolizes a resolute response and struggle to preserve identity, equality and political subjectivity during one of the most sensitive periods in the modern history of BiH. Dmičić emphasised that by adopting the Declaration proclaiming the Republic of the Serb People of BiH on January 9, 1992, the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH carried out one of the key historical, political and cultural events for the Serbian people in BiH at the end of the 20th century, and even more than that. "The proclamation of the Republic of the Serb People of BiH was a strong mechanism of self-organisation and political defence in the circumstances of the disintegration of the former Yugoslav federation and its constitutional order. This act was neither isolated nor sudden, but emerged as a response to complex internal and international circumstances, the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and profound disagreements over the future constitutional and legal arrangement of BiH," he said. Dmičić noted that for the Serbian people in BiH, the Declaration primarily meant an effort to politically and legally protect their collective identity, equality and equal status, particularly national integrity as a constituent people. He stated that attempts at unilateral secession of BiH from the Yugoslav state community, without the consent of all three constituent peoples, were perceived by Serbian political representatives as a threat to the acquired status, rights and security of the Serbian people. "In constitutional-legal and political terms, this also marked the beginning of the institutional shaping of Serbian state-building and political architecture and autonomy in BiH. Although, at that time, the status of the Republic was disputed and the subject of sharp internal and international debates, the foundations were laid for the later constitutional-legal and political structure of Srpska as one of two equal, unified and indivisible state-building entities within the framework of the Dayton Peace Agreement," Dmičić said. From this perspective, he added, this international legal and political act is interpreted and accepted within the Serbian national corpus as a prerequisite for survival and for the political and national equality of the Serbian people in post-war Dayton BiH. Dmičić pointed out that January 9, 1992, carries strong symbolic significance. "It marked the articulation of the will of the Serbian people to remain in a common state with Serbia and other parts of what was then Yugoslavia that shared the same aspiration, or to reject decisions made without their participation and consent. This date became a symbol of political unity, national self-awareness and the effort to preserve the continuity of the state-legal status of the Serbian people in BiH," he said. Dmičić also noted that the Day of Republika Srpska - January 9 - is disputed by Bosniak political elites and part of the international community, as they view it as an unjustified symbol of the outbreak of war, unilateral political action and confessional exclusivity, as well as a challenge to the existing constitutional-legal order of BiH. "Precisely these opposing interpretations of this date show that the issue of January 9 is not merely a dispute over a holiday, but a reflection of deep and still unharmonised models and visions of the past and future of BiH," he explained. Dmičić said that the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, which declared January 9 as the Day of Republika Srpska unconstitutional, was based on a specific constitutional-legal interpretation of the principles of equality, non-discrimination and secularism of the state, as formulated in the Constitution of BiH and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its protocols, which have direct application in the constitutional order of BiH and "shall have priority over all other laws". "The Constitutional Court, in adopting this decision, did not deal solely with the historical or political significance and meaning of January 9, but rather, in a completely unconstitutional and ultra vires manner, formally and legally analysed the compliance of an entity holiday with constitutional standards," he said. According to Dmičić, the legal mechanisms of Republika Srpska in defending its right to mark January 9 - the Day of Republika Srpska - range from normative adjustments and constitutional argumentation, through invoking democratic legitimacy and international standards, to a long-term strategy of constitutional dialogue as part of a broader and lasting constitutional-legal discourse within the multi-ethnic and complex state community of BiH. January 9 is celebrated as the Day of Republika Srpska because on that date in 1992, it was established under its original name, the Republic of the Serb People of BiH.