The Dayton Agreements and International Law

II. General features of the peace agreements

The Dayton Accord consists of a set of international treaties, namely: the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, twelve Annexes (each of them constituting an international treaty) and the Agreement on Initialling, concerning the modalities of conclusion and entry into force of the other agreements.

The bulk of the General Framework Agreement, concluded by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (`Bosnia and Herzegovina'), the Republic of Croatia (`Croatia') and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, obliges the Parties to `respect and promote fulfillment' of each annexed agreement.¹ The annexed Agreements set up the conditions for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and are concluded mainly by Bosnia and Herzegovina and the two Entities directly involved in the conflict (which are not parties to the General Framework Agreement), i.e. the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.² The General Framework Agreement is thus the instrument which guarantees the implementation of the annexed agreements from both a political and a juridical point of view.

Besides the peace agreements, some of the contracting Parties have made unilateral declarations³ and `endorsements'⁴ while other States (not parties to any agreement) `witnessed' the conclusion and the entry into force of the Peace Accord.⁵ On the whole, the obligations set up at Dayton constitute an intricate legal web, reflecting the multi-faceted nature of the conflict, where ethnic, religious, political and military elements are closely interwoven.

1 Articles II to VIII. Furthermore, the Parties have undertaken to "conduct their relations in accordance with the principles set forth in the United Nation Charter, as well as the Helsinki Final Act" and, in particular, to "fully respect the sovereign equality of one another", to "settle disputes by peaceful means" and to "refrain from any action, by threat or use of force or otherwise, against the territorial integrity or political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina or any other State" (Art. I); to "cooperate fully with all entities involved in implementation of this peace settlement, as described in the Annexes to this Agreement, or which are otherwise authorized by the United Nations Security Council, pursuant to the obligation of all parties to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law"(Art. IX). The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina have also undertaken the obligation "to recognize each other as sovereign independent States within their international borders"(Art. X). The two States concerned fulfilled this obligation in Paris, before the signature of the Dayton accord.

2 Agreement on Military Aspects of the Peace Settlement (Annex 1-A), Agreement on Inter-Entity Boundary Line and Related Issues (Annex 2), Agreement on Elections (Annex 3), Constitution (Annex 4), Agreement on Human Rights (Annex 6), Agreement on Refugees and Displaced Persons (Annex 7), Agreement on the Commission to Preserve National Monuments (Annex 8), Agreement on International Police Task-Force (Annex 11).
Other agreements are entered into only by the two Entities (i.e. the Agreement on Arbitration (Annex 5) and the Agreement on Bosnia Herzegovina Public Corporation (Annex 9)) or by each of the parties to the General Framework Agreement and NATO (i.e. the Agreement Between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO Concerning the Status of NATO and its Personnel, the Agreement Between the Republic of Croatia and NATO Concerning the Status of NATO and its Personnel and the Agreement Between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO Concerning Transit Arrangements for Peace Plan Operations (Appendix B to Annex 1-A)); or by the parties to the General Framework Agreement and the two Entities, i.e. (the Agreement on Regional Stabilization (Annex 1-B) and the Agreement on Civilian Implementation of the Peace Settlement (Annex 10)).

3 See the side-letters relating to the Agreement Between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO addressed to the NATO Acting Secretary General by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska; the side-letters relating to the Agreement on Military Aspects of the Peace Settlement and the Agreement on Inter-Entity Boundary Line and Related Issues, addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States by both Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; the side-letters relating to the Agreement on the Military Aspects of the Peace Settlement (Annex 1-A) addressed to the United Nations Secretary General and to the NATO Acting Secretary General by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia.

4 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia endorsed, by virtue of their signature, two annexed agreements concluded by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the Agreement on Military Aspects of the Peace Settlement (Annex 1-A) and the Agreement on Inter-Entity Boundary Line and Related Issues (Annex 2).

5 The conclusion and the entry into force of the General Framework Agreement was "witnessed" by means of their signature by the European Union, the United States, the Russian Federation, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and the Republic of France.

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