<div><p>Bosnian Serb deputies have rejected a bid by the top international envoy there to extend the mandate of foreign judges dealing with war crime cases, reports said Tuesday.</p><p>The Bosnian Serb entity's parliament approved a paper submitted by its government that rejected the ruling by Valentin Inzko, the international High Representative for Bosnia and Hercegovina, "in its entirety".</p><p>The Bosnia Serb document said "there exists no legal obligation to accept and enforce the High Representative's decisions," the Srna news agency reported.</p><p>Two weeks ago, Inzko extended the mandate for foreign judges and prosecutors working in the Court of Bosnia-Hercegovina to December 31, 2012. Their mandate had been due to expire at the end of this year.</p><p>Inzko's decision had come after Bosnia's central parliament failed to extend the judges' mandates because of the opposition from Bosnian Serb deputies.</p><p>The High Representative hit out Tuesday at the rejection by the Bosnian Serb deputies, saying it violated the Dayton peace accord which ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.</p><p>The moves by the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS), in "rejecting the implementation of the laws of Bosnia and Hercegovina enacted by the High Representative, are in violation of the Dayton peace agreement," Inzko said in a statement.</p><p>"The Republika Srpska must respect the Dayton peace agreement in its entirety and must not challenge actions undertaken on the basis of Dayton," he said.</p><p>The peace deal that ended Bosnia's war split the country into two semi-independent entities -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation, each with its own government, linked by weak central institutions.</p><p>The agreement also created the role of envoy from the international community, an important post with the power to impose laws and sack elected officials.</p><p>Milorad Dodik, the RS prime minister, told reporters on Tuesday he wanted to hold a referendum on Inzko's ruling.</p><p>"Our aim is to organise it in March or in April," the Srna agency reported.</p><p>The entity's parliament has asked Dodik's government to propose changes to referendum law to prevent Croat and Muslim deputies blocking a poll.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=66115011&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP Global Edition</a></div></div>