Challenges of Bosnia and Herzegovina Constitutional Reform on the Path to the EU Membership

For a long time, a key condition for Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to entry into force was the implementation of the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Sejdić-Finci v Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Zornić v B&H. According to the judgment of the ECtHR, the B&H constitution discriminates against national minorities (Roma and Jews) and citizens of B&H from being members of the Presidency and House of Peoples. In the judgment in the case of Zornić v B&H, the ECtHR highlighted their expectations from B&H to establish a democratic constitutional arrangement without discrimination based on ethnicity. For almost five years, a key condition for the progress of Bosnia on the EU path was the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci judgment. After the 2014 general elections, Germany and UK presented a new EU approach toward B&H, known as the German-UK initiative. That initiative overshadowed the condition for constitutional changes by request for socio-economic reforms. The result of the new approach was seen already on June 1, 2015, when SAA entered into force. Since October 2014 constitutional reform has been completely marginalized. Yet, European Commission in its B&H progress report 2015 states that the Constitution remains in breach of the ECHR as stated in the Sejdić-Finci ruling of the ECtHR, and needs to be amended