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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) - Government

Bosnia emerged from more than three years of civil war in 1995 with a peace agreement that provides for a complex power-sharing arrangement between a Muslim and Croat federation and an autonomous ethnic-Serb republic. The post-war arrangement is cumbersome and allows either side to veto reforms for a stronger central government and better functioning state.

The constitution, formed as part of the Dayton Accords and signed by then presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia – Alija Izetbegovic, Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic respectively – formally ended the war in Bosnia, but was a “bandage for a bleeding wound”, Baroness Arminka Helic said in the British parliament in December 2021. It stopped the conflict but it has locked Bosnia into a set of Kafkaesque institutional structures. Dayton Bosnia has three Presidents, 13 Prime Ministers, 14 Parliaments, 147 Ministers and 700 parliamentarians, divvied up according to ethnic quotas, all for a population of less than 3.2 million.

Fifteen years after a brutal war, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) still must ensure political stability, foster a national identity, and create a single economic space. BiH struggles to perform basic governmental functions and has not transitioned to full sovereignty given the remaining outstanding conditions needed for closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). OHR is an ad hoc international institution created by the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) and responsible for overseeing the implementation of civilian aspects of the DPA which ended the war in BiH. While OHR prepares to close, the European Union (EU) has pledged to increase its commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU has confirmed this commitment with appointment of a European Union Special Representative (EUSR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina today consists of two Entities -- the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), which is largely Bosniak and Croat (divided into 10 cantons), and the Republika Srpska (RS), which is primarily Serb. In accordance with Annex 2, Article V, of the Dayton Peace Agreement that left the unresolved status of Brcko subject to binding international arbitration, an Arbitration Tribunal was formed in mid-1996. On March 5, 1999, the Tribunal issued its Final Award. The Final Award established a special District for the entire pre-war Brcko Opstina, under the exclusive sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The territory of the District belongs simultaneously to both Entities, the Republika Srpska and the Federation, in condominium. Therefore, the territories of the two Entities overlap in the Brcko District. In accordance with the Final Award, the District is self-governing and has a single, unitary, multiethnic, democratic Government; a unified and multiethnic police force operating under a single command structure and an independent judiciary.

In July 2000, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a decision whereby Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs are recognized as constituent people throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March 2002, this decision was formally recognized and agreed by the major political parties in both Entities.

Under the provisions of the Dayton Peace Accords, the Entities have competencies in areas such as taxation, except indirect taxation, business development, and general legislation. Entities and cantons control their own budgets, spending on infrastructure, health care, and education. Ongoing reforms have led to the creation of a single, multi-ethnic military under state-level command and control to replace the previous Entity-based institutions and a state-level Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA) that is responsible for the implementation of a nationwide value-added tax (VAT), revenues from which are collected in the "Single Account." The Single Account funds the governments of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country's foreign debt, the two Entities, and Brcko District. Customs, which had been collected by agencies of the two Entities, also is now collected by a new single state customs service.

The Presidency in Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates every eight months among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat), each elected for a 4-year term. The three members of the Presidency are directly elected (the Federation votes for the Bosniak and Croat, and the Republika Srpska for the Serb).

The Presidency is responsible for:

• Conducting the foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Appointing ambassadors and other international representatives, no more than two-thirds of whom may come from the Federation;
• Representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in European and international organizations and institutions and seeking membership in such organizations and institutions of which it is not a member;
• Negotiating, denouncing, and, with the consent of the Parliamentary Assembly, ratifying treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Executing decisions of the Parliamentary Assembly;
• Proposing, upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, an annual budget to the Parliamentary Assembly;
• Reporting as requested, but no less than annually, to the Parliamentary Assembly on expenditures by the Presidency;
• Coordinating as necessary with international and non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Exercising command and control over the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in peacetime, crises, and war, and;
• Performing such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its duties, as may be assigned to it by the Parliamentary Assembly, or as may be agreed by the Entities.

The Chair of the Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives. He is then responsible for appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate. The Council is responsible for carrying out the policies and decisions in the fields of defense, intelligence, foreign policy; foreign trade policy; customs policy; monetary policy; finances of the institutions and for the international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina; immigration, refugee, and asylum policy and regulation; international and inter-Entity criminal law enforcement, including relations with Interpol; establishment and operation of common and international communications facilities; regulation of inter-Entity transportation; air traffic control; facilitation of inter-Entity coordination; and other matters as agreed by the Entities.

The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples includes 15 delegates, two-thirds of whom come from the Federation (5 Croats and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). Nine members of the House of Peoples constitutes a quorum, provided that at least three delegates from each group are present. Federation representatives are selected by the House of Peoples of the Federation, and Republika Srpska representatives are selected by the Republika Srpska National Assembly. The House of Representatives is comprised of 42 members, two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska. Federation representatives are elected directly by the voters of the Federation, and Republika Srpska representatives are directly elected by Republika Srpska voters.

The Parliamentary Assembly is responsible for enacting legislation as necessary to implement decisions of the Presidency or to carry out the responsibilities of the Assembly under the constitution; deciding upon the sources and amounts of revenues for the operations of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina; approving a budget for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and deciding whether to consent to the ratification of treaties.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a multi-layered and decentralized judicial system consisting of 14 Justice Ministries and numerous courts. The FBiH has the Constitutional Court of FBiH, the Supreme Court of FBiH, 10 cantonal courts, and municipal courts, as well as minor offense courts. The RS has the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska, the Supreme Court of Republika Srpska, district courts, and basic courts, as well as minor offense courts. Brcko District also has its own courts.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (State Court), established by December 8, 2000 legislation, has criminal, administrative, and appeals departments and jurisdiction only over specific types of crimes, namely, war crimes, financial crimes (e.g., official corruption and human trafficking), and crimes against the State (e.g., treason and terrorism). Unlike the BiH Constitutional Court, which is the final authority on questions of constitutionality, the State Court operates alongside, not above, the Federation and RS Supreme Courts.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine members: four are selected by the House of Representatives of the Federation, two by the Assembly of the Republika Srpska, and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after consultation with the Presidency. The Constitutional Court's original jurisdiction lies in deciding any constitutional dispute that arises between the Entities or between Bosnia and Herzegovina and an Entity or Entities.

The Federation of BiH is divided into 10 cantons, and further administratively divided into 79 municipalities. These cantons operate as local autonomous units of the Federation. Each canton has its own government, which includes cantonal ministries and agencies. The Republika Srpska has a centralized government and is divided directly into 62 municipalities. The ethnically diverse Brcko District is a division of its own under the direct jurisdiction of BiH. Due to the introduction of direct election of mayors, municipal-level government represents a great opportunity for improving the consultative process between citizens and their leaders, advocating citizens‘ issues and demands, and raising citizens‘ expectations of responsive and transparent governance to the national level of government. A survey of government effectiveness found that BiH citizens have the highest level of trust in municipal government.

International and some local stakeholders recognize that reform of the current BiH Constitution, which was part of the peace agreement adopted in Dayton in 1995, is urgent and the only systematic way to make BiH a functional state. Reform is necessary to address institutional overlap and inefficiency; the weak powers held by the state government; and some discriminatory provisions in the current Constitution, including lack of enforcement of BiH Constitutional Court decisions on equality of constituent people.