Published on 24 April 2023
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 8168/23
DEMOCRATIC FRONT
against Bosnia and Herzegovina
lodged on 10 February 2023
communicated on 3 April 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applicant is one of the most important multi-ethnic political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its leader, Mr Željko Komšić, has been one of the Presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2018. The latest general elections were held on 2 October 2022. On the same day, after the closure of the polls, the High Representative (for more information about its mandate, see Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, §§ 16-17, ECHR 2009) imposed statutory amendments increasing, inter alia, the number of delegates elected to the House of Peoples (the second chamber) of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the cantonal assemblies. The Central Election Commission then adopted the implementing legislation on 4 November 2022[1], setting the number of delegates belonging to each “constituent people” (persons who declare affiliation with Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and to “others” (members of ethnic minorities and persons who do not declare affiliation with any particular group) from each canton. The new House of Peoples was formed on 30 December 2022 according to the new rules.
The applicant complains under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 that the fundamental elements of electoral law were amended during an election period. It claimed that it would have presented different lists of candidates had the new rules been announced earlier.
The applicant also complains under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 and Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 that the new rules (notably, the number of delegates from each canton, the ethnic composition of those delegates and the use of the 2013 census for the calculations) put multi-ethnic parties, such as the applicant, in a less favourable position than mono-ethnic political parties which, according to the applicant, amounted to discrimination.
Lastly, the applicant complains under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 about the ineligibility of its members who do not declare affiliation with a “constituent people” (belonging thus to the category of “others”) to stand for election for President or Vice-President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has the applicant had at its disposal any effective domestic remedy for its Convention complaints?
2. Has there been a breach of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 in view of the timing of the impugned amendments (see, mutatis mutandis, Ekoglasnost v. Bulgaria, no. 30386/05, §§ 67-72, 6 November 2012)?
3. Have those amendments put multi-ethnic parties, such as the applicant, in a less favourable position than mono-ethnic parties. If so, has there been a breach of the applicant’s rights under Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 and/or under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12?
4. Has there been a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 arising from the fact that those who do not declare affiliation with a “constituent people” are ineligible to stand for election for President or Vice-President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see, mutatis mutandis, Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, §§ 53-56, ECHR 2009, and Zornić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, no. 3681/06, §§ 35-37, 15 July 2014)?
5. The Government are required to explain the method used to determine the current number and ethnic composition of delegates from each canton.
6. The parties are required to indicate how many delegates in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina belonging to each “constituent people” and to “others” the applicant obtained in 2022 and how many it would have obtained had the old rules been applied.
[1] Uputstvo o postupku provođenja posrednih izbora za organe vlasti u Bosni i Hercegovini obuhvaćenih Izbornim zakonom Bosne i Hercegovine, Official Gazette nos. 75/22 and 83/22; Kriteriji i postupak popune nedostajućih mandata u Domu naroda Parlamenta Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, Official Gazette no. 75/22.