Published on 15 June 2026
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 16619/23
Albin ZUHRIĆ and Others
against Bosnia and Herzegovina
lodged on 13 April 2023
communicated on 26 May 2026
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applicants are members of the Democratic Front and members of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“the Federation”). They do not declare affiliation with any “constituent people” (persons who declare affiliation with Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and thus belong to the constitutional category of “Others” (for more information about those categories, see Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, § 11, ECHR 2009). Under domestic law, only those members of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation who declare affiliation with one of the “constituent peoples” are eligible to nominate a candidate for the President/Vice-President of the Federation and only those who declare affiliation with one of the “constituent peoples” are eligible to be candidates for the President/Vice-President of the Federation. Nonetheless, the applicants nominated for that position Mr Zlatan Begić (also belonging to the category of “Others”; see Begić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (no. 2), no. 16613/23, 3 February 2026). On 2 February 2023 the Central Election Commission rejected that nomination because it did not fulfil the statutory requirements. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld that decision on 8 February 2023. On 20 February 2023 the present applicants and Mr Zlatan Begić lodged constitutional appeals. On 23 January 2025 the Constitutional Court joined their cases and delivered a decision. It found a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention. Relying on the case-law of this Court (notably, Sejdić and Finci, cited above), it held that the different treatment of the appellants in relation to the election for the President and Vice-Presidents of the Federation, for the sole reason of their ethnicity, lacked an objective and reasonable justification. As a general measure, the Constitutional Court indicated that the relevant domestic authorities should adopt necessary measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against those who belonged to the constitutional category of “Others” in standing for the election for the position in issue and thus put an end to the incompatibility of the domestic law with the Convention and the Court’s case-law in that regard. The general measure indicated by that court has not yet been implemented.
The applicants complain of their ineligibility to nominate a candidate for election to the office of President/Vice-President of the Federation on account of their ethnicity. They rely on Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Has there been a violation of the applicants’ rights under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention, as a result of their ineligibility to nominate a candidate for election to the office of President/Vice-President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see, by analogy, Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, ECHR 2009; Zornić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, no. 3681/06, 15 July 2014; and Begić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (no. 2), no. 16613/23, 3 February 2026)?
APPENDIX
List of applicants
Application no. 16619/23
No.
Applicant’s Name
Year of birth
Nationality
Place of residence
1.
Albin ZUHRIĆ
1987
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo
2.
Senita HANDUKIĆ
1969
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bihać
3.
Sandra IMŠIROVIĆ
1986
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lukavac