Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls on BiH to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments

(Patria) - The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which oversees the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has called on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide information in writing by April 15, 2024, on measures taken to implement a group of judgments.

The Committee recalled that these cases concern discrimination against persons not belonging to the constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina or those who do not meet the ethnic affiliation and residency requirements regarding the right to stand for election to the House of Peoples and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of Europe announced.

The statement emphasizes the crucial importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina's obligation, undertaken under Article 46 of the Convention, to immediately implement the Court's judgments to ensure the greatest possible redress for the established violations.

On this occasion, they expressed concern that, as a direct consequence of the lack of measures taken by BiH as the defendant party, general elections have been held four times to date under the same regulatory framework which the European Court has found to be discriminatory, despite repeated calls from the Committee of Ministers over the past 14 years.

They expressed regret over the lack of written information from the authorities regarding the measures envisaged or taken to implement these judgments, recalling the coalition agreement of November 29, 2022, signed by the leaders of several political parties, which, among other things, agreed to adopt limited amendments to the Constitution and the Election Law within six months of the formation of authorities at all levels, in order to implement these judgments, noting in this regard that the process of forming authorities has now been completed at all levels, with the exception of one canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Committee insists on the exceptional importance of immediately resuming work on electoral reform, with the implementation of all necessary consultations in order to eliminate discrimination based on ethnic affiliation in elections for the Presidency and the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Reiterating once again the Council of Europe's readiness to assist the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina with all available means in fulfilling their obligations under Article 46 of the Convention and calling on the authorities to utilize all expertise available within the Council of Europe, particularly the Venice Commission, to quickly reach a consensus on the necessary reform of the electoral system.

On this occasion, the Committee calls on the authorities and political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to make every effort to reach a consensus on the necessary amendments to the Constitution and electoral legislation, and to decide to invite the relevant minister of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for an exchange of views at the Committee's session in June 2024.