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SARAJEVO – On August 29, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina that the applicant, Slaven Kovačević, had been discriminated against by the country’s political system, in particular electoral rules. The decision was welcomed by supporters of a civic Bosnia and Herzegovina as the basis for future reforms, while representatives of ethnic parties criticized it for, in their interpretation, attempting to erase the category of constituent peoples.
The Court found that this combination of territorial and ethnic requirements amounted to discriminatory treatment in the context of the right to participate in elections to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He considered that the same applies to the right to vote in the elections for the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, Slaven Kovačević, a political scientist and advisor to Željko Komšić, a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that due to a combination of territorial and ethnic demands applicable to the House of Peoples, he was not able to vote for the candidates of his choice in the 2022 legislative elections. Likewise, he was not able to vote for the candidates of his choice in the 2022 presidential election .
The Troika, an alliance of the Social Democratic Party, the People and Justice Party and “Our Party”, issued a statement describing the decision as an important starting point for any future discussions on reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are necessary after the decision.
“As in previous judgments, the European Court of Human Rights clearly states that all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who do not identify as Bosnians, Serbs or Croats are victims of discrimination, which is also the case for Bosniaks and Croats living in Republika Srpska. entity or Serbs who live in the entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latest judgment confirms Bosnia and Herzegovina’s obligation to harmonize its legislation and eliminate the discrimination that has existed since 2002. The same discrimination and state obligations have been repeated in several judgments of the European Court of Justice. human rights itself in the past. 20 years,” says the press release, reports Klix.ba.
The US Embassy in Sarajevo posted its reaction on X (formerly Twitter). He said the United States remains committed to supporting local actors in their efforts to implement ECHR judgments.
The United States has always supported the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Although we have not yet had the opportunity to review this specific decision in detail, we remain committed to supporting local stakeholders in their efforts to implement the…
– U.S. Embassy Sarajevo (@USEmbassySJJ) August 30, 2023
“If Bosnia and Herzegovina wants a future within Euro-Atlantic institutions, the decisions of the ECHR will have to be implemented, but these decisions can only be implemented if local politicians step up and do the hard work of negotiation, consensus-building and compromise,” the statement read.
European Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero said the EU had taken note of the ECHR ruling and that Bosnia and Herzegovina must fulfill the 14 key priorities listed in the Commission’s 2019 opinion if it wanted to open accession negotiations to the EU.
Meanwhile, ethnic Serbian and Croatian parties harshly criticized the court’s decision.
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik called the decision “illegal” and said it targeted the category of constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats) and attempted to reject parts of the Dayton peace accords .
Dodik said he would propose to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to reject these “bullshit” recommendations, Nézavisné reports.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina based on a civic principle cannot survive. Yugoslavia could not do it, Belgium cannot do it now. We are not surprised by this behavior and will soon open a session of the National Assembly of the RS. I am happy that the Serbian representatives strongly rejected this DECISION, which only permanently divided Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Dodik said.
HDZ BiH, a political party representing Croats, issued a statement emphasizing that the Croatian National Assembly (a political organization of Croatian political parties) considers this decision as part of a radical political program whose aim is that the Bosniaks, as the most numerous people, govern unitary Bosnia and Herzegovina and impose their representatives on the Croatian people.
“The Croatian National Assembly considers that certain interpretations of the “Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina” and other decisions rendered as a result of the political activism of unity politicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the European Court of Human Rights cannot call into question the equality of Croats, Bosnians and Serbs. These comments are politically motivated, have no basis in human rights and run counter to the Dayton Peace Accords. We welcome the statements of the European Court of Human Rights that the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina should decide which is the best political system and how to address the issue of discrimination in human rights,” says the communicated.
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