Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples

The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily notable for being an annex to the Dayton Peace Treaty that ended the 1992–1995 war. A significant aspect of this constitutional framework is its emphasis on the three main ethnic groups – Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs – designated as constituent...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nurkić Benjamin, Skrebo Edin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2025-06-01
Series:Comparative Southeast European Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2025-0034
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850032623696478208
author Nurkić Benjamin
Skrebo Edin
author_facet Nurkić Benjamin
Skrebo Edin
author_sort Nurkić Benjamin
collection DOAJ
description The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily notable for being an annex to the Dayton Peace Treaty that ended the 1992–1995 war. A significant aspect of this constitutional framework is its emphasis on the three main ethnic groups – Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs – designated as constituent peoples, which play a central role in the state’s governance and institutions. The recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Savickis and Others v. Latvia has indirectly highlighted the (in)compatibility of certain constitutional solutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the principle of non-discrimination of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this article, the authors explain how the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not seek to implement the rulings issued by the ECtHR, but rather interpreted the constitutional identity of the country as being based precisely on the central role given to the constituent peoples. In so doing, the Constitutional Court, now also supported by the case Savickis and Others v. Latvia, created the prospect of abuse of constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
format Article
id doaj-art-2dc915fc321c43ee931f4582bb402a44
institution DOAJ
issn 2701-8199
2701-8202
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher De Gruyter
record_format Article
series Comparative Southeast European Studies
spelling doaj-art-2dc915fc321c43ee931f4582bb402a442025-08-20T02:58:34ZengDe GruyterComparative Southeast European Studies2701-81992701-82022025-06-0173215418010.1515/soeu-2025-0034Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent PeoplesNurkić Benjamin0Skrebo Edin1Faculty of Law, University of Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and HerzegovinaFaculty of Law, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalyThe Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily notable for being an annex to the Dayton Peace Treaty that ended the 1992–1995 war. A significant aspect of this constitutional framework is its emphasis on the three main ethnic groups – Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs – designated as constituent peoples, which play a central role in the state’s governance and institutions. The recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Savickis and Others v. Latvia has indirectly highlighted the (in)compatibility of certain constitutional solutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the principle of non-discrimination of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this article, the authors explain how the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not seek to implement the rulings issued by the ECtHR, but rather interpreted the constitutional identity of the country as being based precisely on the central role given to the constituent peoples. In so doing, the Constitutional Court, now also supported by the case Savickis and Others v. Latvia, created the prospect of abuse of constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2025-0034bosnia and herzegovinaconstitutional identityconstitutional courteuropean court of human rightssavickis and others v. latvia
spellingShingle Nurkić Benjamin
Skrebo Edin
Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
Comparative Southeast European Studies
bosnia and herzegovina
constitutional identity
constitutional court
european court of human rights
savickis and others v. latvia
title Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
title_full Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
title_fullStr Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
title_full_unstemmed Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
title_short Prospect of Abuse of Constitutionalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional Identity and the Constituent Peoples
title_sort prospect of abuse of constitutionalism in bosnia and herzegovina constitutional identity and the constituent peoples
topic bosnia and herzegovina
constitutional identity
constitutional court
european court of human rights
savickis and others v. latvia
url https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2025-0034
work_keys_str_mv AT nurkicbenjamin prospectofabuseofconstitutionalisminbosniaandherzegovinaconstitutionalidentityandtheconstituentpeoples
AT skreboedin prospectofabuseofconstitutionalisminbosniaandherzegovinaconstitutionalidentityandtheconstituentpeoples