Skip to content

External militant democracy: The case of Bosnia & Herzegovina

Imagine a politician winning a democratic election. He/She enters office with a mandate from thousands of voters, only to discover that an unelected official can remove him from office, invalidate laws adopted by parliament, and effectively reshape the constitutional framework within which he operates. In most constitutional democracies, such a scenario would appear inconceivable. In …

Two Recent Strasbourg Judgments Against Bosnia and Herzegovina: Extending the Prohibition of Ethnic Exclusion in Access to Public Office

Introduction The judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights on 3 February 2026 in Begić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Begić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (No 2) represent another important development in the Court’s anti-discrimination jurisprudence concerning the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both cases, the Court found a violation of …

When a Government Lacks Constitutional Title: U-29/25, Acting Authority, and Executive Legitimacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction The appointment of the new Government of Republika Srpska in August 2025 unfolded under highly atypical and constitutionally contentious circumstances, ultimately giving rise to one of the most significant constitutional disputes in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 18 August 2025, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a final judgment establishing that Milorad Dodik’s …