AFIRMACIJA LJUDSKIH PRAVA KAO POLAZIŠTE ZA REDEFINISANJE POLITIČKOG I DRŽAVNOPRAVNOG KONCEPTA BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE
AFFIRMATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AS THE STARTING POINT TO REDEFINE POLITICAL AND LEGAL CONCEPT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Author(s): Mirjana Nadaždin Defterdarević
Subject(s): Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Civil Society, Government/Political systems, Politics and society
Published by: Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine
Keywords: constitution; human rights; constituent peoples; self-determination; differentiated citizenship;
Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the issue of organizational principle of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina – which currently rests on the concept of the three constituent peoples – questioning its relationship with the principles of equality and non-discrimination, which have been proclaimed both in the state and entity constitutions. The conclusion that follows confirms the thesis that a divided society, in which the ethno-cultural divides are politically most important, underlying the political fragmentation of society, is an environment in which the value of these guaranteed principles cannot be realized. By analysing the content and through teleological method, research particularly focuses on the aspect of human rights where, through the application of the criteria of ethnicity, we can clearly see their discriminatory effects. This paper seeks the answer to the question of what is the most reliable basis on which the state and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina should develop. The author finds that for this purpose the most suitable is the affirmation of the principle of “differentiated citizenship”, which allows the self-determination of each individual, thus giving them the possibility of freedom that they will use in the way that suits them the best. In this way, the current differentiation in human rights – according to the criterion of ethnicity – would lose its objective and reasonable justification.

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