SARAJEVO, July 3 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's Constitutional Court recently assessed that important regulations in the constitutions of BH's two entities clashed with a BH Constitution preamble confirming the constitutionality of
Croats, Serbs, and Muslims throughout BH. A July 1 Constitutional Court decision has paved the way for far-reaching changes in BH's internal organisation.
SARAJEVO, July 3 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's Constitutional
Court recently assessed that important regulations in the
constitutions of BH's two entities clashed with a BH Constitution
preamble confirming the constitutionality of Croats, Serbs, and
Muslims throughout BH.
A July 1 Constitutional Court decision has paved the way for far-
reaching changes in BH's internal organisation.#L#
According to the decision, regulations of the Serb entity's
constitution which define the entity as "the state of the Serb
people" are not in line with the Dayton-formulated BH Constitution,
as are neither those from the constitution of the other entity, the
Croat-Muslim federation, according to which only Croats and
Muslims are constituent peoples in the federation.
The July 1 decision was passed following a debate requested by BH
Presidency chairman Alija Izetbegovic, who claimed that entities'
constitutions discriminated BH's citizens based on their national
belonging, denying them important human rights, including those to
elect and be elected.
Members of BH's Presidency, Council of Ministers, national
parliament, and many other bodies are currently elected on the
basis of entity, namely national belonging. In practice, this means
that a Croat or a Muslim from the Bosnian Serb entity, or a Serb from
the federation, can never be elected to BH's Presidency.
"This decision will be very important, first of all, for the one
fourth of BH's population discriminated by former entities'
constitutions," said Kasim Trnka, who had represented Izetbegovic
in a dispute before the Constitutional Court.
"The entities are now obligated to pass amendments in a very short
time to change their constitutions and adjust them to BH's
Constitution," said Trnka.
According to BH media reports, the Constitutional Court decision
was passed with the votes of five judges, three from abroad and two
Muslims. Two Serb and two Croat judges voted against.
According to Snezana Savic, as of recently a BH Constitutional
Court judge representing Bosnian Serbs, the decision represents "a
violation of BH's state structure."
"If now all three peoples are constituent in both entities, this
brings into question the reason for the existence of the entities.
In practice it means they don't have to exist," she said.
(hina) ha jn