CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 11 novembre 2013

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s8229ABDD { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center } .s72EB7DC5 { margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s2D57E2E { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline; text-transform:uppercase } .s9793A85B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sA8776625 { margin-top:18pt; margin-left:29.2pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17.6pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sD3B63DAD { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s68C46B95 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .s3F59B822 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-transform:uppercase } .sCF71F55 { width:100%; border-collapse:collapse } .s417AB949 { width:26.1%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#dfdfdf } .s5FFF0A7E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:8pt } .sEECE831 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; color:#474747 } .sFACDD3A8 { width:33.5%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#dfdfdf } .sECD46F1B { width:40.4%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#dfdfdf } .s2AC4BBD8 { width:26.1%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top } .s6B505E72 { margin:0pt; padding-left:0pt } .s7436C279 { margin-left:29.67pt; padding-left:6.33pt; font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; font-weight:bold } .sE79EEEF8 { width:33.5%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .sFBF0C475 { width:40.4%; border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top } .sBFFDAF1F { margin-left:34.12pt; padding-left:1.88pt; font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; font-weight:bold } .sE22134D3 { margin-left:36pt; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 }       FOURTH SECTION Application no. 414/11 KONGRESNA NARODNA STRANKA and others against Bosnia and Herzegovina lodged on 30 December 2010 STATEMENT OF FACTS   The applicants are the National Party for the Protection of the Human Rights of War Veterans and Citizens, and of Justice and Morals in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Kongresna narodna stranka zaštite ljudskih prava boraca i građana, pravde i morala Bosne i Hercegovine ; “the applicant party“) as well as its 45 members (“the applicants“). A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix. The applicants are represented before the Court by the president of the applicant party, Mr. E. Imširović. A.     The circumstances of the case The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant party and the applicants, may be summarised as follows. In 2006 the applicant party participated in the elections for the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since its members do not declare affiliation with any of the “constituent peoples” (namely, Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs), they are ineligible to stand for election through a party list to the second chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the House of Peoples) or to the collective Head of State (the Presidency). Some of them belong to Roma and Albanian ethnic minority while others do not declare affiliation with any particular group. B.     Relevant international and domestic law and practice The relevant law and practice were set out in Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, ECHR 2009. In particular, the Constitution makes a distinction between “constituent peoples” (persons who declare affiliation with Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and “others” (members of ethnic minorities and persons who do not declare affiliation with any particular group because of intermarriage, mixed parenthood, or other reasons). In the former Yugoslavia, a person’s ethnic affiliation was decided solely by that person, through a system of self-classification. Thus, no objective criteria, such as knowledge of a certain language or belonging to a specific religion were required. Moreover, there was no requirement of acceptance by other members of the ethnic group in question. Since the Constitution contains no provisions regarding the determination of one’s ethnicity it appears that it was assumed that the traditional self-classification would suffice. In accordance with the Constitution, only persons declaring affiliation with a “constituent people” are entitled to run for the House of Peoples and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Article 1.9 § 1 of the Elections Act 2001 [1] provides that a political mandate belongs to the elected candidate and not to the political party from which list he/she was elected. Moreover, pursuant to Article 1.9 § 2 of this Act, if an MP elected through a party list leaves a party during his/her time in the office, he/she becomes an independent MP. Article 9.1 of the Election Act 2001 provides that, if a political mandate of an MP in the House of Representatives elected through a party list terminated, then the corresponding seat was to be occupied by the next candidate from the same constituency. If there were no other candidates from the same constituency, the seat was to be occupied by the next candidate from the same party list. COMPLAINT The applicant party and the applicants take issue with their ineligibility to stand for election to the House of Peoples and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They rely on Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 taken alone and in conjunction with Article 14.       QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES   1.     May the applicant party claim to be a victim of a violation of Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention (see Russian Conservative Party of Entrepreneurs and Others v. Russia , nos. 55066/00 and 55638/00, §§ 53-67, 11 January 2007, and Georgian Labour Party v. Georgia , no. 9103/04, §§ 72-73, ECHR 2008)?   2.     Have the applicants suffered discrimination, contrary to Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 and/or Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, arising from the very existence of the constitutional arrangements according to which only those belonging to one of the three “constituent peoples” are eligible to stand for election to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC], nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06, ECHR 2009)?     Appendix   No. Applicant’s name Birth date, place of residence and nationality     Vahida BEŠLAGIĆ   20/07/1959 Ključ BiH   Remzo BEZDROB 20/01/1964 Goražde BiH   Zehra ĆAMO 15/05/1961   Sarajevo BiH   Ibrahim CRNOGORAC 28/06/1932 Tuzla BiH   Abdulah DAUTOVIĆ 27/02/1942 Zvornik BiH   Mehmed DURAKOVIĆ 04/03/1957 Bijeljina BiH   Elmasa DŽEKIĆ 01/09/1966 Tuzla BiH   Kanaid DŽEKIĆ 23/07/1957 Tuzla BiH   Arif FAZLIĆ 01/03/1969 Mostar BiH   Mejra GAVRANOVIĆ 23/05/1952 Mostar BiH   Jusuf GOLOŠ 03/04/1970 Mostar BiH   Hakik HARBAŠ 23/08/1958 Bosanska Krupa BiH   Ibrahim HASANOVIĆ 10/08/1963 Bosanska Krupa BiH   Fejzudin HASANOVIĆ Kalesija BiH   Senad HASOVIĆ 20/07/1965 Goražde BiH   Enver IMŠIROVIĆ 06/08/1952 Tuzla BiH   Mair ISMAILI 25/03/1957 Tuzla BiH   Ekrem JULARDŽIJA 25/04/1965 Travnik BiH   Dževad KADRIĆ 20/08/1969 Goražde BiH   Muris KALAJDŽISALIHOVIĆ 17/08/1959 Bugojono BiH   Sanel KOPIĆ 03/03/1973 Kladanj BiH   Avdo KRVAVAC 29/04/1968 Mostar BiH   Ekrem KUKURUZ 04/04/1977 Gradačac BiH   Ekrem LUBENOVIĆ 10/04/1958 Travnik BiH   Dženan MAHMUTBEGOVIĆ 24/09/1974 Bugojno BiH   Ševal MALČINOVIĆ 15/06/1961 Tuzla BiH   Sead MEMIĆ 16/05/1954 Sarajevo BiH   Senija MEMIĆ 19/02/1959 Sarajevo BiH   Enver MIRVIĆ 27/09/1964 Goražde BiH   Husein ODOBAŠIĆ 25/03/1956 Tuzla BiH   Abdurahman ODOBAŠIĆ 11/09/1983 Tuzla BiH   Mahmud OLOVČIĆ 14/06/1969 Sarajevo BiH   Nurija OMERBAŠIĆ 12/08/1946 Sarajevo BiH   Ismet PALOŠ 20/03/1959 Bužim BiH   Redin REDŽIĆ 30/04/1970 Mostar BiH   Mirsad REDŽIĆ 02/11/1960 Zenica BiH   Dzemila ŠABANOVIĆ Tuzla BiH   Zlatija ŠABANOVIĆ Mostar BiH   Hatidža SANTIR Živinice BiH   Midhat ŠEHIĆ 01/06/1966 Tuzla BiH   Ramiz SEJFIĆ 09/02/1964 Bugojno BiH   Hanifa SERHATLIĆ 09/12/1946 Živinice BiH   Esad SINANOVIĆ 29/11/1954 Tuzla BiH   Selver SOFTIĆ 24/07/1960 Živinice BiH   Jusuf ŽIGIĆ 18/08/1961 Tuzla BiH   [1] Izborni Zakon Bosne i Hercegovine , Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina nos. 23/01, 7/02, 9/02, 20/02, 25/02, 4/04, 20/04, 25/05, 52/05, 65/05, 77/05, 11/06, 24/06 and 32/07.