Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The system of government established by the Dayton Accord is an example of consociationalism, as representation is by elites who represent the countrys three major groups, with each having a guaranteed share of power. Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into two Entities - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, as well as the district of Brčko. Each of the Entities has its own constitution.
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[edit] Dayton Agreement
Due to the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, Bosnia and Herzogovina forms an international protectorate, with decisive power given to the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It retained Bosnia's exterior border and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government - based on proportional representation similar to that which existed in the former socialist regime - is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy.
The Dayton Agreement established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. About 250 international and 450 local staff members are employed by the OHR.
[edit] Executive branch
The Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat), each elected as the Chair for an 8-month term within their 4-year term as a member. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly by the people (Federation votes for the Bosniak/Croat, Republika Srpska for the Serb). The Presidency is the head of state institution and it is mainly responsible for the foreign policy and proposing the budget.
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives. He is then responsible for appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate.
The Council is responsible for carrying out various policies and decisions in the fields of diplomacy, economy, inter-Entity relations and other matters as agreed by the Entities.
Each of the Entities has its own Council of Ministers, which deal with internal matters not dealt with by the state Council.
[edit] Principal Government Officials
| Main office holders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
| High Representative | Christian Schwarz-Schilling | 31 January 2006 | |
| Members of the Presidency | Ivo Miro Jović (Croat) | Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9 May 2005 |
| Sulejman Tihić (Bosniak) | Party of Democratic Action | 5 October 2002 | |
| Borislav Paravac (Serb) | Serb Democratic Party | 11 April 2003 | |
| Chair of the Council of Ministers | Adnan Terzić (Bosniak) | SDA | 2002 |
| President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Niko Lozančić (Croat) | HDZ | 27 January 2003 |
| Vice-presidents | Sahbaz Džihanović (Bosniak) | SDA | |
| Desnica Radivojević (Serb) | SDA | ||
| Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Ahmet Hadžipašić (Bosniak) | SDA | 14 February 2003 |
| President of the Republika Srpska | Dragan Čavić (Serb) | Serb Democratic Party | 28 November 2002 |
| Prime minister of the Republic Srpska | Milorad Dodik (Serb) | Alliance of Independent Social Democrats | February 2006 |
| International supervisor of Brčko | Susan R. Johnson | ||
| Mayor of Brčko | Branko Damjanac (Serb) | ||
[edit] History
Past international high representatives: Carl Bildt, Carlos Westendorp, Wolfgang Petritsch, Paddy Ashdown.
Members of the Presidency who stepped down under pressure from the Office of the High Representative: Mirko Šarović, Ante Jelavić, Dragan Čović. Alija Izetbegović also withdrew from the Presidency.
In February 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the structure of the Council of Ministers was unconstitutional; a new structure is being negotiated.
Federation president and vice-president in 1999: Ejup Ganić and Ivo Andrić-Lužanski.
Past RS presidents: Radovan Karadžić, Biljana Plavšić, Nikola Poplašen, Mirko Šarović.
RS president Nikola Poplašen was removed by the OHR on 5 March 1999.
[edit] Legislative branch
The Parliamentary Assembly or Parlamentarna skupština is the main legislative body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two chambers:
- the House of Peoples or Dom naroda
- the National House of Representatives or Predstavnički dom/Zastupnički dom
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 the budget for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- deciding ratify treaties and agreements.
- other matters as are necessary to carry out its duties of as are assigned to it by mutual agreement of the Entities.
Bosnia and Herzegovina did not have a permanent election law until 2001, during which time a draft law specified four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures. The final election law was passed and publicized on September 9, 2001.
[edit] House of Peoples
The House of Peoples includes 15 delegates who serve two-year terms. Two-thirds of them come from the Federation (5 Croats and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the RS (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, which has 58 seats (17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 others) and whose members are delegated by cantonal assemblies to serve 4-year terms. RS representatives are selected by the 28-member Republika Srpska Council of Peoples which was established in the Republika Srpska National Assembly; each constituent nation has eight delegates, "others" have four delegates.
[edit] House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is comprised of 42 Members, two-thirds elected to serve four-year terms from the Federation (14 Croats and 14 Bosniaks) and one-third elected from the RS (14 Serbs). Federation members come from the Federation House of Representatives with 98 seats whose members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. RS members come from the RS National Assembly, which has 83 seats and whose members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.
[edit] Political parties and elections
- The following election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party of Democratic Action (Stranka Demokratske Akcije) | 269,427 | 23.71 | 10 |
| Serbian Democratic Party (Srpska demokratska stranka) | 172,544 | 15.18 | 5 |
| Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stranka za Bosnu i Hercegovinu) | 136,090 | 11.97 | 6 |
| Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Socijaldemokratska partija Bosne i Hercegovine) | 134,384 | 11.82 | 5 |
| Party of Independent Social Democrats (Stranka nezavisnih socijaldemokrata) | 114,591 | 10.08 | 3 |
Coalition
|
114,207 | 10.05 | 5 |
| Party of Democratic Progress (Partija demokratskog progresa RS ) | 53,177 | 4.68 | 2 |
| Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska (Socijalistička partija Republike Srpske ) | 1.9 | 1 | |
| Bosnian Party (Bosanska stranka) | 1.5 | 1 | |
| Pensioners' Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stranka penzionera/umirovljenika BiH) | 1.4 | 1 | |
| Democratic People's Alliance (Demokratski narodni savez) | 1.4 | - | |
| Democratic People's Community (Demokratska Narodna Zajednica) | 1.4 | 1 | |
| New Croatian Initiative (Nova hrvatska inicijativa) | 1.4 | 1 | |
| Economic Bloc (Ekonomski blok HDU - Za boljitak) | 1.3 | 1 | |
| Total (turnout 53.9 %) | 42 | ||
| Source: Izbori.ba | |||
[edit] Election history
National House of Representatives:
- elections held 12-13 September 1998:
- seats by party/coalition - KCD 17, HDZ-BiH 6, SDP-BiH 6, Sloga 4, SDS 4, SRS-RS 2, DNZ 1, NHI 1, RSRS 1
- elections held 5 October 2002:
- percent of vote by party/coalition - SDA 21.9%, SDS 14.0%, SBiH 10.5%, SDP 10.4%, SNSD 9.8%, HDZ 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, others 19.3%
- seats by party/coalition - SDA 10, SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3, HDZ 5, PDP 2, others 7
House of Peoples:
- constituted 4 December 1998
- constituted in fall 2000
- constituted in January 2003
- next to be constituted in 2007
Federation House of Representatives:
- elections held fall 1998:
- seats by party/coalition - KCD 68, HDZ-BiH 28, SDP-BiH 25, NHI 4, DNZ 3, DSP 2, BPS 2, HSP 2, SPRS 2, BSP 1, KC 1, BOSS 1, HSS 1
- elections held 5 October 2002:
- seats by party/coalition - SDA 32, HDZ-BiH 16, SDP 15, SBiH 15, other 20
Federation House of Peoples:
- constituted November 1998
- constituted December 2002
Republika Srpska National Assembly:
- elections held fall 1998
- seats by party/coalition - SDS 19, KCD 15, SNS 12, SRS-RS 11, SPRS 10, SNSD 6, RSRS 3, SKRS 2, SDP 2, KKO 1, HDZ-BiH 1, NHI 1
- elections held fall 2000
- elections held 5 October 2002
- seats by party/coalition - SDS 26, SNSD 19, PDP 9, SDA 6, SRS 4, SPRS 3, DNZ 3, SBiH 4, SDP 3, others 6
[edit] Judicial branch
[edit] Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine members: four members are selected by the House of Representatives of the Federation, two by the Assembly of the RS, and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after consultation with the Presidency.
Terms of initial appointees are 5 years, unless they resign or are removed for cause by consensus of the other judges. Once appointed, judges are not eligible for reappointment. Judges subsequently appointed will serve until the age of 70, unless they resign or are removed for cause. Appointments made 5 years after the initial appointments may be governed by a different law of selection, to be determined by the Parliamentary Assembly.
Proceedings of the Court are public, and decisions will be published. Rules of court are adopted by a majority of the Court, and decisions are final and binding.
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. Such disputes may be referred only by a member of the Presidency, by the Chair of the Council of Ministers, by the Chair or Deputy Chair of either chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly, or by one-fourth of the legislature of either Entity.
The Court also has appellate jurisdiction within the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[edit] State Court
The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities.
A War Crimes Chamber was added in January 2005, and has currently adopted two cases transferred from the ICTY, as well as dozens of war crimes cases initiated in cantonal courts.
The State Court also deals with organized crime, economic crime and corruption cases. For example, former Presidency member Dragan Covic is currently on trial for involvement in organized crime syndicates.
[edit] Entities
The entities each have a Supreme Court. Each entity also has a number of lower courts. There are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts. The Republika Srpska has five municipal courts.
[edit] External links
- Office of the High Representative
- Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Government of the Republic of Srpska
- Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Government of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bosnia: a single country or an apple of discord?, Bosnian Institute, 12 may 2006
