« Back to Accord

International Arbitration: General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Implementations

International Arbitration – 1995

The Dayton Accord required the parties to select a third-party within 30-days of the signing of the accord. Annex 2 of the Dayton Accord called for a Tribunal decision “no later than one year from the entry into force” of the agreement — i.e., by 14 December 1996. Parties failed to reach an agreement on a third-party arbitrator within the required time of 30-days.¹“Brcko Arbitral Tribunal for Dispute Over the Inter-Entity Boundary in Brcko Area Award,” Office of the High Representative and EU Special Representative, 1997, accessed April 26, 2011. http://www.ohr.int/ohr-offices/brcko/default.asp?content_id=5327#_ftn3.[… The tribunal was set up to decide on the issue of the Brcko area. At the time of the agreement, the RS controlled some 48% and the Federation controlled some 52% of the area.

International Arbitration – 1996

As parties failed to reach an agreement on the arbitrator, the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) appointed Roberts B. Owen on 15 July 1996, as the third-party arbitrator and presiding officer of the Tribunal. After his appointment, Mr. Owen called for a preliminary conference to be held in Sarajevo on 7 August 1996. The purpose of the preliminary conference was to decide on procedural issues, including the scheduling of future proceedings. The conference took place as scheduled. There was no one representing the Republic of Srpska. The procedural rules required the entities to submit and respond to the first and second statements of each party. However, the Arbitration Commission did not receive a written statement from the Republic of Srpska. Later on, the deadline for the RS’s submission of papers was extended to 22 November at the request of the RS counsel. On 27 November 1996, both sides consented to extend the date of the Tribunal to 15 February 1997.¹

“Brcko Arbitral Tribunal for Dispute Over the Inter-Entity Boundary in Brcko Area Award.”

International Arbitration – 1997

The Tribunal’s hearing started on 8 January 1997 in Rome. All arbitrators were present in the hearing, which lasted nine days. The hearing included opening statements by the counsel, testimony by 19 witnesses (eight called by the Federation, nine by the RS, and two by the Tribunal itself), and closing arguments. The Tribunal conducted its deliberation in Washington D.C. following the Rome hearing, but arbitrators representing the Federation and the RS refused to sign the award.¹

The award called for the implementation of the Dayton Accord or the establishment of an interim supervisory regime in the contested territory in order to allow former Brcko residents to return to their home, to provide freedom of movement and other human rights throughout the area, and to lay the foundation for local representative democratic government, among other provisions. Neither party signed the award. The arbitration was postponed until March 1997. In March 1997, the area was awarded to the Serbs depending upon their level of cooperation with the international administrator for Brcko area in the future. Nevertheless, the final deliberation still was not made. In June 1997, the size of the International Police Task Force was increased from 1,721 to 2,027 in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1103 (1997) of 31 March 1997, relating to the implementation of the Brcko arbitration award as well as other requirements.²

“Brcko Arbitral Tribunal for Dispute Over the Inter-Entity Boundary in Brcko Area Award.”
“NATO: Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina (UNMIBH),” M2 PRESSWIRE, June 20, 1997.

International Arbitration – 1998

No further information was available except for the holding of local elections.

International Arbitration – 1999

On 5 March 1999, the Brcko arbitration tribunal decided to create the Brcko district of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be held in condominium by both entities. The UN Secretary General lauded the decision.¹ The United States called the decision a “right one” and asked both parties not to obstruct implementation. If one of them should obstruct the implementation of the award the arbitration panel could award the Brcko area to the other.²

“U.N. Chief Lauds Decision to Set Up Brcko District in Bosnia,” Xinhua News Agency, March 5, 1999.
“US calls Bosnia decision on Serb-held area ‘right one’,” Agence France Presse, March 5, 1999.

International Arbitration – 2000

The arbitration tribunal had been established as provisioned in the accord and delivered its final verdict in 1999. The whole process, however, was delayed and the deliberation did not come as agreed in the original agreement.