Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Application nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06 (2009)

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Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina

European Court of Human Rights
Application nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06 (2009)

KS

Facts

The Bosnia and Herzegovina (defendant) constitution (Bosnian constitution) allowed only members of the country’s “constituent peoples” to stand for election to the country’s presidency or legislature. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constituent people consisted of Serbians, Croatians, and Bosnians. The Bosnian constitution’s clear and unequivocal intention was to prohibit individuals of other ethnicities from running for office. Such a limitation was considered essential to restoring peace and ending the country’s violent civil war. In the years since the adoption of its constitution, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Council of Europe and ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the convention). Jakob Finci, who was Jewish, and Dervo Sejdić, who was Roma (plaintiffs), were not considered members of the country’s constituent peoples. Finci and Sejdić wished to run for office; however, each was prevented from running by the ethnic-based limitation within the Bosnian constitution. In 2006, Finci and Sejdić lodged applications against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the terms of the Bosnian constitution, which prevented Finci and Sejdić’s candidacies because of their ethnicities, violated the convention.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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