Supervisor in a web of international law and domestic regulations

The High Representative, as well as his Deputy – the Supervisor – are “international factors” in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the District. From the very outset the officials of the Office of the High Representative have interpreted extensively the rights laid down in the Dayton Peace Agreement and in Bonn. They have the competence to give binding interpretations, and to operate without restrictions in the legislative and executive field. They may, in operational terms, have dual effect. That means that they may act as a substitute to BiH authorities and the authorities of the District, or they may directly use the powers referred to in the Bonn conclusions. Both offices make up an international office, which was established under an international agreement.³⁶⁷¹ Their numerous powers stand in contrast to Bosnia and Herzegovina being referred to as a sovereign state in Article I of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nevertheless, eventually, it comes down to how one understands the notion “sovereign”.³⁶⁷² Bystanders are hesitant to view Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “protectorate” of the international community.³⁶⁷³ Graf Vitzthum and Mack³⁶⁷⁴ speak of Brčko as of a new (essential and para-entity) territorial creation under the direct international administration. Rehs³⁶⁷⁵ introduces the legal nature of the international civilian administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an international authority, a hybrid made up of different structural elements and features without any model hailing from the past. For something of this kind, lawyers came up with the term “international institution sui generis”. If one takes into account the time constraints of the international mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one may as well speak about an international law entity, which is changing from a protectorate over to a sovereign State.³⁶⁷⁶ Something like this sounds friendlier and elicits more hope.