Friedenskonsolidierung durch Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit in Bosnien und Herzegowina

Consolidating freedom is one of the tasks that falls within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court. In post-war Bosnia, the Constitutional Court and the Human Rights Chamber play a key role in this respect. Although fifteen years have passed since the end of the armed conflict there, the continued existence of the country’s complex state structure, as created in Dayton in 1995, is not guaranteed. Perpetuated by the old elites, both its domestic and foreign policies remain influenced by persistent ethnic divisions. Confronted with this situation, the Supreme Court, which is manned by a mixture of national and international officials, fulfils a mediatory, counterbalancing and legitimising function while also remaining mindful of the superordinate goals of the state and its society. They ensure that fundamental rights are protected effectively, promote national integration in a multi-ethnic state, mediate in disputes over jurisdiction in and both legitimise and regulate international intervention.