New-Old Constitutional Engineering in BiH

The main aim of the research project “New-old constitutional engineering in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Complexity and possible directions for the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights decision in the case Sejdic and Finci vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The fundamental goal of this research is to offer to decision-makers, journalists and public officials, as well as the academic community and wider public, a systematic overview of international standards, relevant comparative experiences (those related to other divided societies) and political practice in BiH in the field of political participation of minorities to this date, both in terms of meanings and implications of the non-discrimination principle, and in terms of guaranteeing political participation for minorities. An analysis framed in this manner was to yield concrete recommendations for constitutional reform in the specific context in BiH, offering possible mechanisms for the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights decision in Sejdic and Finci.

This project was implemented in 2010. The project continued in 2011. Within the continued project ("Promotion and advocacy of different modalities for the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights decision in the case Sejdic and Finci vs. BiH"), the study "New-old constitutional engineering" prepared during 2010 was translated into English, published in both languages and disseminated to key stakeholders, as well as published on the Analitika website. In addition, an expert discussion and an international conference were organized on the subject; two analytical briefs were also prepared and distributed. 

The project and its continuation were financially supported by Open Society Fund BiH.