Published on 31 January 2022

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 34891/21 Zlatan BEGIĆ against Bosnia and Herzegovina lodged on 16 June 2021 communicated on

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. Pursuant to Article IV of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly has two chambers: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples 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. The House of Representatives 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. All legislation requires the approval of both chambers. The Constitution also introduced several other power-sharing arrangements, such as a vital interest veto and an Entity veto. The applicant complains under Articles 10 and 14 of the Convention, Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 that, as a result of those power-sharing arrangements, his vote as a Member of the House of Representatives carries disproportionately less weight than the vote of a Delegate to the House of Peoples, although the latter category is not directly elected. In his opinion, this is not compatible with the concept of “effective political democracy” to which the Preamble to the Convention refers.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been a breach of the applicant’s rights under Articles 10 and 14 of the Convention, Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 and/or Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, as a result of the power-sharing arrangements introduced by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina?