Konstitutivnost naroda u Bosni i Hercegovini: Pregled teorijsko-pravnih i pojmovnih određenja
The Constitutionality of People in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Overview of Theoretical Legal and Conceptual Definitions

Summary/Abstract: The notion of constitution of the people is a novelty in the theory and practice of constitutional law. By signing the Washington Treaty, it is incorporated for the first time into the constitution and thus becomes part of the constitutional solution. This agreement ended the armed conflict in one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established on the territory where the Bosniaks and Croats made the majority. The general framework agreement for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the concept of constitution of peoples was established throughout the country - with Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats as constituent peoples. The word “constituency” originates from the Latin word constituo, which in translation means the basic, the composite, the foundation, the determining one. The constitutiveness of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats implies their equality realized at the level of collectivity - through equitable / parity representation in the constitution-specific institutions of the system and special mechanisms of protection of vital interests of constituent peoples. In this sense, the principle of the constitutiveness of the people in the legal and doctrinal sense can not - under any circumstances - be equated with the notion of sovereignty. Constituent peoples at the level of collectivity and each are individually not sovereign nations, nor any constituent people can exercise their constitutiveness independently and independently of the other two constituent peoples. Also, the principle of the constitutiveness of the people should be understood as a “provisional measure” since it was established in a period of mass violations of human rights, and during that period it was necessary to stop the war and establish international peace and security. In such circumstances, privileged status was granted to the Bosniaks of the Serbs and Croats solely in order to stop the war. This was also taken up by the European Court of Human Rights in Sejdić-Finci, Azra Zornić and Ilijas Pilav cases.

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