Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina[lower-alpha 1] is one of the two entities composing Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of ten autonomous cantons with their own governments and legislatures.

This article is about the political entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the country itself, see Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the country as it existed from 1992 to 1995, see Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine
Федерација Босне и Херцеговине
Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location of the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina (blue) within Bosnia and Herzegovina.a
Location of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (blue) within Bosnia and Herzegovina.a
CountryBosnia and Herzegovina
Washington Agreement18 March 1994
Recognized as
part of Bosnia
and Herzegovina		14 December 1995
Capital
and largest city
Sarajevo
43°52′N 18°25′E
Official
languages[1]
Ethnic groups
(2013)
GovernmentFederated state
• President
Lidija Bradara
Nermin Nikšić
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
House of Peoples
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Area
• Total
26,110.5 km2 (10,081.3 sq mi)
Population
• 2013 census
2,219,220[2]
• Density
91/km2 (235.7/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)2021[3] estimate
• Total
€11.317 billion
• Per capita
€5,180
CurrencyConvertible markb (BAM)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code+387
ISO 3166 codeBA-BIH
a Formally, Brčko District is held in condominium by both parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (namely, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska). De facto, however, it is a third entity, as it has the same powers as the Federation and Republika Srpska and is under the direct sovereignty of BiH.[4]
b Latin version

The Federation was created by the 1994 Washington Agreement, which ended the Croat–Bosniak War within the Bosnian War, and established a constituent assembly that continued its work until October 1996.

The Federation has a capital, government, president, parliament, customs and police departments and two postal systems. It occupies about half of the land of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1996 until 2005 it had its own army, the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, later merged in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital and largest city is Sarajevo with 275,524 inhabitants.[5]

History
Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997
  Bosniak-controlled areas
  Croat Herzeg-Bosnia
Flag of the Federation from 1996 to 2007
Coat of arms of the Federation from 1996 to 2007
Main article: Washington Agreement

The basis for the creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were laid down by the Washington Agreement of March 1994.[6] Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Defence Council forces was to be divided into ten autonomous cantons along the lines of the Vance-Owen plan. The cantonal system was selected to prevent dominance of one ethnic group over another. However, much of the territory Croats and Bosniaks claimed for their Federation was at that point still controlled by the Bosnian Serbs.

The Washington Agreement was implemented during the spring of 1994, by convoking a Constitutional Assembly, which on June 24 adopted and proclaimed the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7]

In 1995, Bosniak forces and Bosnian Croat forces of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated forces of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, and this territory was added to the federation (Una-Sana Canton).

Post-war

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–1999) – OHR.int

Main article: Dayton Agreement

By the Dayton Agreement of 1995 that ended the four-year war, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was defined as one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, comprising 51% of country's area, alongside Republika Srpska. Cantons and federal structure were built rather slowly after the war. Separatist Croat Herzeg-Bosnia institutions existed and functioned parallel to Federation ones up until 1996–97, when they were phased out. On 8 March 2000, the Brčko District was formed as an autonomous district within Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was created from part of the territory of both Bosnian entities. Brčko District is now a condominium that belongs to both entities.

In 2001–2002, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) imposed amendments to the Federation's Constitution and its electoral law, in compliance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the political equality of the three constituent peoples (U-5/98).[8] This triggered the grievances of Bosnian Croats, who claimed they were deprived of their rights to representation as Bosniaks had come to control the majority in the upper house as well.[9] Dissatisfied Croat politicians set up a separate Croatian National Assembly, held a referendum parallel to the elections and proclaimed their self-rule in Croat-majority areas in the Federation. Their attempts ended shortly after a crackdown by SFOR and legal proceedings.

Dissatisfied with the representation of Croats in the Federation, Croat political parties insist on creating a Croat-majority federal unit instead of several cantons. SDA and other Bosniak parties strongly oppose this. In September 2010, the International Crisis Group warned that "disputes among and between Bosniak and Croat leaders and a dysfunctional administrative system have paralyzed decision-making, put the entity on the verge of bankruptcy and triggered social unrest".[10] In January 2017, Croatian National Assembly stated that "if Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to become self-sustainable, then it is necessary to have an administrative-territorial reorganization, which would include a federal unit with a Croatian majority. It remains the permanent aspiration of the Croatian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina."[11]

In 2010–14 the Federation's Government was formed by SDP without the consent of major Croat political parties, leading to a political crisis.

In parallel to EU-facilitated talks on the Sejdic-Finci issue at State level, in February 2013 the US embassy supported an expert working group which presented its 188 recommendations to the FBIH House of Representatives in 2013,[12] aiming to address the costly and complex governance structures with overlapping competences between the Federation, the Cantons and the municipalities as currently entailed in the Federation Constitution.[13] The initiative was finally not adopted by the Parliament.

Following an appeal by HDZ BiH Božo Ljubić, in December 2016 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina abolished the electoral formula for the indirect election of the Federation House of People, stating that it did not guarantee the legitimate representation of constituent peoples.[14] Notably, the ruling did not concur with an amicus curiae opinion of the Venice Commission on the same matter. Lacking legislative amendments to revise the Election Law, in Summer 2018 the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina provisionally enacted a new formula for the composition of the House of People, based on the minimal representation formula (one deputy per each constituent people per each canton) and on the 2013 census.

In 2022, the High Representative imposed amendments to the federal Constitution and the Election Law, implementing the Ljubic verdict. The changes also reconstructed the original balance of power between Croats and Bosniaks in the Federation, as envisioned in Washington Agreement.

In 2023, the High Representative suspended the federal Constitution for one day in order to impose a new government. This created a huge scandal and political crisis.[15] Some see this as an act of "treason".[16]

Geographic boundary
Main article: Inter-Entity Boundary Line

The Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL) that distinguishes Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities runs along the frontlines as they existed at the end of the Bosnian War, with adjustments (most importantly in the western part of the country and around Sarajevo), as defined by the Dayton Agreement. The total length of the IEBL is approximately 1,080 km. The IEBL is an administrative demarcation and not controlled by the military or police and there is free movement across it.[17]

Five of the cantons (Una-Sana, Tuzla, Zenica-Doboj, Bosnian Podrinje and Sarajevo) are Bosniak-majority cantons, three (Posavina, West Herzegovina and Canton 10) are Croat-majority cantons, and two (Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva) are 'ethnically mixed', meaning there are special legislative procedures for protection of the constituent peoples.[18]

A significant portion of Brčko District was also part of the Federation; however, when the district was created, it became shared territory of both entities, but it was not placed under control of either of the two, and is hence under direct jurisdiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[19] Currently the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has 79 municipalities.[17]

Politics

The government and politics of the Federation are dominated by three large parties, the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the multi-ethnic Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH) and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH).[10]

Entity-level institutions include:

Since Bosniaks compose roughly 70.4% of the Federation's population, Croats 22.4% and Serbs just around 2%, the Parliament's House of Peoples (with equal representation for all three nationalities) is supposed to ensure that the interests of Croats, Serbs and national minorities are fairly represented during government creation and in the legislative process.

The Federation is also divided into ten highly autonomous cantons. They each have their own governments, assemblies and exclusive and shared competencies. In 2010, the Federation's Constitutional Court ruled that two Federation's ministries – the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture and Sports – are unconstitutional since education and culture are an exclusive competence of the cantons.[20]

Political divisions
Main article: Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises ten cantons (Bosnian: kantoni, Croatian: županije):

No.CantonCenterNo.CantonCenter
1Una-SanaBihać6Central BosniaTravnik
2PosavinaOrašje7Herzegovina-NeretvaMostar
3TuzlaTuzla8West HerzegovinaŠiroki Brijeg
4Zenica-DobojZenica9SarajevoSarajevo
5Bosnian-PodrinjeGoražde10Canton 10Livno

Demographics

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises 51% of the land area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is home to 62.85% of the country's total population.

Ethnic composition in 1991 (pre-war)
Ethnic composition in 2013
Population of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to ethnic group 1991–2013[21]
Ethnic

group

 census 1991 census 2013
Number % Number %
Bosniaks 1,423,593 52.34% 1,562,372 70.40%
Croats 594,362 21.85% 497,883 22.44%
Serbs 478,122 17.58% 56,550 2.55%
Yugoslavs 161,938 5.95%
Others 62,059 2.28% 102,415 4.61%
Total 2,720,074 2,219,220

See also

Notes
  1. Serbo-Croatian: Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine (FBiH) / Федерација Босне и Херцеговине (ФБиХ), pronounced [federǎːtsija bôsneː i xěrtseɡoʋineː] ⓘ.

References
  1. Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  2. "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013 Final Results" (PDF). Sarajevo, juni 2016: BHAS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. "Database of economic indicators of RS". www.irbrs.net.
  4. "Brcko Chart". 30 August 2002. Archived from the original on 30 August 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. "Preliminary Results of the 2013 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (PDF). Bhas.ba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. "Washington Agreement (1994)" (PDF).
  7. "CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA". 1 March 2002. Archived from the original on 1 March 2002.
  8. "Decision on Constitutional Amendments in the Federation". 13 May 2002. Archived from the original on 13 May 2002.
  9. Bose, Sumantra: "Bosnia After Dayton: Nationalist Partition and International Intervention", Oxford University Press, 2002; p. 82
  10. "Federation of Bosnia And Herzegovina – A Parallel Crisis". International Crisis Group. 28 September 2010. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010.
  11. Rose, Eleanor: "Bosniaks Slap Down Calls for Bosnian Croat Entity", Balkan Insight, January 30th, 2017
  12. ustavnareformafbih.blogspot.com Ustavna Reforma FBIH
  13. "EC Progress Report 2013, p.6-7" (PDF).
  14. Rose, Eleanor: "Bosnian Court Ruling Lends Weight to Croat Agitation", Balkan Insight, 15 Dec 16
  15. Service, RFE/RL's Balkan. "International Envoy Imposes Amendments To Bosnian Constitution To Spur Formation Of Government, Strengthen Elections". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  16. Sito-sucic, Daria (28 April 2023). "Regional Bosnia government formed as protesters chant 'treason'". Reuters. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  17. Cox, Marcus (2003). "Building Democracy from the Outside : the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina". In Bastian, Sunil; Luckham, Robin (eds.). Can Democracy be Designed? : the Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-torn Societies. London: Zed Books Ltd. pp. 253–276 [259]. ISBN 1-84277-150-7. These were required to withdraw to their respective territories, and a demilitarised Zone of Separation was created, extending for two kilometres on either side of the IEBL and heavily patrolled by international forces.
  18. Richard G. Johnson (25 February 1999). "Negotiating the Dayton Peace Accords through Digital Maps". U.S. Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2007. Digital technology had matured enough by late 1995 that Dayton marked the first significant appearance of "digital maps" in diplomatic negotiations.
  19. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, U-5/98 (Partial Decision Part 1), p. 18, Sarajevo, 29 and 30 January 2000
  20. "Odluka USBiH, Broj: U-29/09 28. septembra 2010. godine". Ustavnisudfbih.ba. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  21. "Popis 2013 u BiH – Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine".
  22. "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2013" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.

Sources
  • Human Rights Watch (1999). War Crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1-56432-083-9.
  • Rudman, George (1996). "Backtracking to Reformulate: Establishing the Bosnian Federation". International Negotiation. 1 (3): 525–545. doi:10.1163/157180696X00205.
  • Pilav, Aida; et al. (2007). "Cardiovascular risk factors in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina". The European Journal of Public Health. 17 (1): 75–79. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl066. PMID 16698884.
  • Ljubic, Bozo; Hrabac, Boris (1998). "Priority setting and scarce resources: case of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina". Croat. Med. J. 39 (3): 7–12. PMID 9740639.
  • McMahon, Patrice C.; Western, Jon (2009). "The death of Dayton: How to stop Bosnia from falling apart". Foreign Affairs: 69–83.
  • Ivanković, Ante; et al. (2010). "Health status of population in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 15 years of transitional period". Collegium Antropologicum. 34 (1): 325–333. PMID 20402343.
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