The OHR said in a statement Christian Schwarz-Schilling made the decision at the demand of Bosnian and international authorities such as the Hague war crimes tribunal and Bosnia's State Court, including Justice Minister Slobodan Kovac.
The amended law envisions the possibility of extending detention to three years from the issuing of the indictment for other grave crimes as well.
The OHR said the current one-year detention limit from the confirmation of the indictment was problematic because trials could not be completed in one year. This provides for releasing the accused during trial, which enables them to escape to countries from which they cannot be extradited to Bosnia, the OHR added.
The statement said Schwarz-Schilling's decision was in accordance with his earlier announcements that he would expert his Bonn powers which enable him to impose laws so as to ensure full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
The High Representative also called on the state parliament to pass as soon as possible a law which would enable the State Court to take over documents regarding trials referred by the Hague tribunal also in electronic form in order to step up trials.