Published on 14 November 2022

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 43651/22 Slaven KOVAČEVIĆ against Bosnia and Herzegovina lodged on 30 August 2022 communicated on 27 October 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, initialled at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton (the United States of America) on 21 November 1995 and signed in Paris (France) on 14 December 1995, was the culmination of some forty-four months of intermittent negotiations under the auspices of the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia and the Contact Group. It entered into force on the latter date and contains twelve annexes, including the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Preamble to the Constitution, Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs are described as constituent peoples. At the State level, power-sharing arrangements were introduced, making it impossible to adopt decisions against the will of the representatives of any constituent people, including a bicameral system and a collective Presidency. Pursuant to Article I § 3 of the Constitution, Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two Entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“the Federation”) and the Republika Srpska. Pursuant to Article IV of the Constitution, the House of Peoples (the second chamber of the State Parliament) comprises fifteen Delegates, two-thirds from the Federation (including five Croats and five Bosniacs) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (five Serbs). The designated Croat and Bosniac Delegates from the Federation are selected, respectively, by the Croat and Bosniac Delegates to the House of Peoples of the Federation. Delegates from the Republika Srpska are selected by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska. Pursuant to the same Article, the House of Representatives (the first chamber of the State Parliament) comprises forty-two Members, two-thirds elected from the territory of the Federation, one-third from the territory of the Republika Srpska. Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected from their Entity. Lastly, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution, the Presidency consists of three Members: one Bosniac and one Croat, each directly elected from the territory of the Federation, and one Serb directly elected from the territory of the Republika Srpska.

Relying on Articles 14 and 17 of the Convention, Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, the applicant complains that, as a result of a combination of the requirements of ethnic origin and place of residence, the way in which the presidential and legislative elections at the State level are held is discriminatory and that his right to vote in those elections is restricted (for example, as a resident of the Federation, he is entitled to vote only for members of the House of Representatives from the territory of the Federation and for Bosniac and Croat members of the Presidency). The applicant further complains under Article 13 of the Convention that he did not have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for the above complaints.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

1. Has there been a breach of the applicant’s rights under Articles 14 and 17 of the Convention, Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and/or Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention, as a result of the way in which the presidential and legislative elections at the State level are held?

2. Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for the above complaints, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?