Welcome note
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Caroline Ravaud, SRSG
Dear Visitor, The Council of Europe, and notably the Parliamentary Assembly and the Venice Commission, have been advocating constitutional reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2004. As of December 2009, after the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Sejdic and Finci, the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina are under a legal obligation to enact constitutional amendments that will put an end to the discrimination of citizens who cannot stand for election to the Presidency of this country or to the BiH House of Peoples, because they do not declare themselves as Croats, Serbs or Bosniaks. Constitutional reform in any country is a long, complex and difficult process. It will be particularly difficult in a divided society like Bosnia-Herzegovina. I therefore very much welcome the creation of this inter-active website dedicated to constitutional reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I hope that by collecting existing suggestions and proposals about constitutional reform and putting at the disposal of the legal community and the citizens in BiH the text of international standards in the field of constitutional law and human rights case-law, this website will provide an exchange forum to allow for a critical review of existing and future constitutional reform proposals.
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Sabina Woelkner
Dear visitors, Due to its wide availability and online access, the so-called “e-constitutional debate” facilitates the collection of suggestions and proposals about constitutional reform. Thus, the aim is to provide space in the form of an exchange platform to develop new amendment proposals. The platform will give voice to local and international legal experts to shed new light on the constitutional reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Constitutional amendments are inevitable for Bosnia and Herzegovina to make progress in the European integration process. Despite the political need and focus on these issues over the years, no considerable success has been achieved through reforms. Following the general elections of October 3, the time has come to foster and enhance the process of constitutional amendments. Through this project, we want to emphasize our major goal: To provide the impetus to the discussion on constitutional amendments. As the amendment process should be exclusively in the hands of local actors, the web portal should be used as a means of reaching compromises on constitutional reforms among political key stakeholders, including local experts from leading organisations of the non-governmental sector and academia. Furthermore, our web portal shall increase the transparency of the constitutional reform process as well as the awareness of public opinion regarding the legitimacy of the constitutional amendments. As for the history of the project, the idea first came up in the context of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Commentary of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commentary was presented in Sarajevo in April 2010 by the Rule of Law Program South East Europe in cooperation with the KAS Sarajevo office. In this respect, the web portal follows up the motive behind the Commentary, namely, to strengthen the constructive and achievement-oriented reform debate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, it is my sincere wish that the web portal provides an open space for interactive discussion among outstanding local and international legal experts. As for this, we would be honoured if you could take part in our e-constitutional debate. By way of your participation, you will actively contribute in overcoming the constitutional reform impasse in Bosnia and Herzegovina - as only the constitutional reform will bring Bosnia and Herzegovina a step closer to the European Union and pave the way for Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union. |
Nedim Ademović, dr. iur.
The Constitution is the highest legal act of every country, which regulates the competences of a political power organized by law. The constitutional principles reflect the core and the spirit of a constitutional system, its motives and objectives. The constitutional norms regulate, inter alia, the administrative – territorial organization, stipulate the responsibilities of the authorities, and guarantee the human rights and freedoms. The constitutional framework is the basis of functionality, stability and good future prospects of every county. On 14 December 1995 in Dayton, Bosnia and Herzegovina got a new Constitution which represents in many ways a political and legal novum. Irrespective of its open nature, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina offers a complex constitutional system incorporating not only a large number of internal contradictions and elements which are perhaps not an optimal solution for political functionality but also discriminatory provisions which must not form part of any contemporary democratic system (see ECtHR, Judgment in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina). Given its importance, as well as problems which Bosnia and Herzegovina is continuously facing in the area of its internal development and foreign relations with other (international) legal entities, the Constitution and constitutional reform have become both an unavoidable subject and a sensitive issue for all relevant factors. The relevant international factors, such as the Council of Europe (e.g. Resolution 1725 [2010] and the European Commission of the European Union (e.g. SEC [2009] 1338 of 14 October 2009) have made it quite clear that the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina must undergo reform. The constitutional reform is therefore an inevitable international obligation. The satisfactory completion of the constitutional reform is in the common interest of all citizens. It is my great pleasure and honor to announce that the Web Portal on Constitutional Reform is officially accessible to the public. We have an opportunity to present you a product being technically new, socially useful and politically neutral, providing for all interested parties a simple and overall access to the relevant texts on the subjects of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitutional reforms. We sincerely hope that this web portal will make the complex constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina more understandable and the constitutional reforms more transparent and accessible to the experts and the general public and will facilitate the academic community‘s work on future research activities. The web portal will also provide us with a simpler way to exchange experiences, ideas and suggestions with you, if you are interested in doing so. Let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Representative Office in Sarajevo for their support and successful cooperation in this project. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, which has recognized a public interest in this project and welcomed our joint activities and invited the public to use the possibilities of this web-portal. The entire team of this web portal wishes you success in your search.
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