the Venice Commission issued its advisory Opinion. It concluded that the Bonn Powers, although beneficial in the wake of the Bosnian War, do "not correspond to democratic principles when exercised without due process and the possibility of judicial control", and called for a "progressive phasing out of these powers and for the establishment of an advisory panel of independent lawyers for the decisions directly affecting the rights of individuals pending the end of the practice." The Venice Commission also criticised the weakness of State-level institutions, left incapable to "effectively ensure compliance with the commitments of the country with respect to the Council of Europe and the international community in general", as well as the overlap of competences between the Presidency and the Council of Ministers, the lack of specific limitations for the use of the national interest veto, the entity veto, and the House of Peoples as a legislature. The Venice Commission also noted how unusual it was that the Constitution has been "drafted and adopted without involving the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and without applying procedures which could have provided democratic legitimacy", and concluded that it was "unthinkable that Bosnia and Herzegovina can make real progress with the present constitutional arrangements." It thus made a connection between the phasing out of international supervision and a constitutional reform process to strengthen the domestic institutions. In April 2005, Protocol XII to the European Convention on Human Rights – which establishes a general prohibition of discrimination – also came into force after ratification by 12 Council of Europe member states, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. Protocol XII would be key to the later European Court of Human Rights rulings against Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Sejdić and Finci. 2006 April package The 2005 Opinion of the Venice Commission, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement opened the debate on a constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the impulse of U.S. diplomacy, with a view of modernizing the country's institutions. U.S. diplomat R. Nicholas Burns stated that this would entail moving towards an individual presidency, a stronger prime minister, and a stronger parliament with a stronger speaker; reforms should have been adopted ahead of the 2006 general election. Bosnian leaders also agreed in a joint statement to commit to a process that "will enhance the authorities of the state government and streamline parliament and the office of the Presidency". Ambassador