Legal System of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in Europe. It is geographically situated in southeastern europe, bordering the adriatic sea and croatia. The country achieved independence on 1 march 1992 (from yugoslavia). The capital is Sarajevo.

Government Overview

Government Type: parliamentary republic Chief of State: Chairperson of the Presidency Zeljko KOMSIC (chairperson since 16 July 2025; presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Croat seat); Denis BECIROVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Bosniak seat); Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Serb seat) Head of Government: Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Borjana KRISTO (since 25 January 2023) Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairperson, approved by the state-level House of Representatives Administrative Divisions: 3 first-order administrative divisions - Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt) (ethnically mixed), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb) National Holiday: Independence Day, 1 March (1992) and Statehood Day, 25 November (1943) - both observed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; Victory Day, 9 May (1945) and Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (1995) - both observed in the Republika Srpska entity Suffrage: 18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Legal System

The legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina is described as civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts International Law: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Constitutional Framework

The constitution has the following history: 14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords) Amendment Process: decided by the Parliamentary Assembly, including a two-thirds majority vote of members present in the House of Representatives; the constitutional article on human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot be amended

Judicial Branch

Highest Court(s): Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); Court of BiH (consists of 44 national judges and 7 international judges organized into 3 divisions - Administrative, Appellate, and Criminal, which includes a War Crimes Chamber) Judge Selection: BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives, 2 selected by the Republika Srpska’s National Assembly, and 3 non-Bosnian judges selected by the president of the European Court of Human Rights; Court of BiH president and national judges appointed by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Court of BiH president appointed for renewable 6-year term; other national judges appointed to serve until age 70; international judges recommended by the president of the Court of BiH and appointed by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; international judges appointed to serve until age 70 Subordinate Courts: the Federation has 10 cantonal courts plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has a supreme court, 5 district courts, and a number of municipal courts

Legislative Branch

The legislative structure consists of bicameral Lower Chamber: House of Representatives (Predstavnicki dom) (42 (all directly elected) seats) Electoral System (Lower Chamber): proportional representation Upper Chamber: House of Peoples (Dom Naroda)

Citizenship and Suffrage

Citizenship by Birth: no Citizenship by Descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina Suffrage: 18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Historical Background

After four centuries of Ottoman rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary took control in 1878 and held the region until 1918, when it was incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the SFRY on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs.

This article provides a summary of the legal system and governmental structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook is a public domain publication of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.