*** Welcome to piglix ***

Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina


The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: Ustavni sud Bosne i Hercegovine, Уставни суд Босне и Херцеговине) is a special court sui generis, whose main role is to be the interpreter and guardian of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as stated in Article VI, paragraph 3 of the Dayton Peace Accords entitled "the Constitution" ("The Constitutional Court shall uphold this Constitution"). It is considered to be the second-highest judicial authority, since it has the appellate jurisdiction over issues under the Constitution arising out of a judgment of any other court in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is subjected to abiding decisions by a foreign High Representative (Article VI, paragraph 3.b).

Bosnia and Herzegovina provides a rare example of a country in transition from a socialist system which nevertheless has a history of having a constitutional court, since the former Yugoslavia was the only country which had a system of the constitutional courts already in socialist regime. The first Constitutional Court in former Yugoslavia was created as early as 1963. This date coincided with the starting point of the history of a constitutional court in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In accordance with the federal structure of the former SFRY, not only was there a Constitutional Court at the federal level, but prior to the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, the six Republics and even the two Autonomous Provinces – Kosovo and Vojvodina – also had their own Constitutional Courts.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established for the first time on 15 February 1964 pursuant to the Constitution of 1963. Its existence was confirmed in the Constitution of 1974. The jurisdiction of this Constitutional Court consisted primarily of an abstract normative control. Thus, it would take decisions as to the conformity of the (Republic’s) laws with the Constitution, and as to the constitutionality and legality of other regulations and general and self-management acts. It would also be called upon to resolve disputes between the Republic and other political-territorial units, in particular, conflicts of jurisdiction as between the courts and other bodies of political-territorial units. The 'Law on the Constitutional Court' regulated issues concerning the organization, jurisdiction and procedures before this Constitutional Court.


...
Wikipedia

...