Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This case note analyzes the Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina case decided by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on 22 December 2009. This was the first case in which the Court applied the far-reaching general prohibition of discrimination in Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention, and did so with regard to a politically volatile situation of electoral discrimination based on ethnicity in a post-conflict society - discrimination that was in fact institutionalized in order to end a war. Likewise, as the implementation of the Court's judgment requires an amendment to the Bosnian Constitution, the case poses significant compliance challenges, which are also likely to arise in a number of other cases currently pending before the Court. All of these issues make this a case deserving of continuing attention.

Keywords: discrimination, Bosnia, Dayton, Protocol No. 12, European Court, ECHR