The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political system produces undemocratic elections and amplifies ethnic divisions, as the country’s dominant ethnic groups—Bosniacs, Croats, and Serbs—enjoy privileges denied to other ethnic groups.

The court held in Kovačević v Bosnia and Herzegovina that Bosnia and Herzegovina had breached Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights since individuals are only entitled to run for the House of Peoples and Presidency if they declare an affiliation with a dominant ethnic group. The court wrote:

… [T]he House of Peoples had to approve all legislation. Therefore, all segments of society should be represented in it. As it stood, the current arrangements rendered ethnic considerations and/or representation more relevant than political, economic, social, philosophical and other considerations and/or representation and thus amplified ethnic divisions in the country and undermined the democratic character of elections.

In addition, the court noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina had, upon becoming a member of the Council of Europe in 2002, an outstanding obligation to reform its electoral system in line with Council of Europe standards. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had also reminded and urged the country to adopt a new Constitution to abolish the ethnic requirements in its political system.

In response to this judgment, a European Commission (EU) spokesperson called upon Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was granted EU candidate status in December last year, “to fulfil the 14 key priorities identified in the Commission’s opinion of 2019 on its EU membership application in order to open EU accession negotiations.” The spokesperson also urged the country to ensure equality and non-discrimination of citizens at a constitutional level.