Justice Minister Bunoza Demands Data on Slaven Kovačević's Ethnicity from CIK

Minister of Justice of BiH Davor Bunoza (HDZ BiH) has requested the Central Election Commission to provide the Office of the Agent of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the European Court of Human Rights with all declarations of national identity of Slaven Kovačević, as part of the “Kovačević” case currently being decided by the Grand Chamber of the Court, Istraga.ba reports.

The Court in Strasbourg ruled in favor of Slaven Kovačević in August 2023, who sued Bosnia and Herzegovina for violating his voting rights as a member of the Others. Despite this, the Council of Ministers of BiH appealed the decision, and the Grand Chamber of the Court is currently deciding on the case.

Essentially, Bosnia and Herzegovina, through its agent at the Court, wants to dispute that Kovačević is a member of the Others, or that he changed his national affiliation, and thus attempt to overturn the verdict.

Bunoza states in a letter to the CIK that he received a request from the agent of the Council of Ministers of BiH before the Court, and that he informed the CIK, but that he has not been provided with data on all declarations of affiliation with a constituent people or the Others made by the appellant Kovačević when participating in elections in BiH.

“Namely, we have been informed by the Office of the Agent of the Council of Ministers of BiH that, based on Article 9, Paragraph (2) of the Law on Personal Data Protection, the CIK BiH refused to provide the requested data because the individual did not give his consent. In this regard, we wish to draw your attention to the fact that all BiH institutions are obliged to cooperate with the Office of the Agent of the Council of Ministers of BiH before the European Court of Human Rights, and that you are obliged to provide the requested data,” the letter states.

Additionally, the minister states that BiH agents before the Court protect the interests of BiH, and that the CIK acted contrary to legal regulations.

We remind that Kovačević complained in his appeal that due to the combination of territorial and ethnic conditions applied to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he could not vote for candidates of his choice in the last General Elections held in 2022. Similarly, he could not vote for candidates of his choice in the last state-level presidential elections in the same year.

The Court then ruled that Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court found that constituent peoples clearly enjoy a privileged position in the current system.

After that, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights accepted the request of the Council of Ministers of BiH in December 2023, with lobbying from Croatia, to review the verdict in the “Kovačević” case. The appeal was then filed by acting agents of BiH before the Court, Monika Mijić and Jelena Cvijetić, whose mandates were questionable.