Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017

All recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) were organized in democratic manner, although certain technical shortcomings and fraudulent activities threatened to endanger freedom and fairness of the process. Political landscape is pluralistic and political parties are able to operate freely. However, only Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks are entitled to run for the Presidency of BiH and for the House of Peoples (upper chamber) of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, due to constitutional provisions contested by the European Court of Human Rights. Local elections took place on the 2nd of October 2016 and were held amid strong ethnic tensions in the country. Seven days prior, an entity Republika Srpska (RS) held an

Decision making process in Bosnia and Herzegovina is inefficient and often interrupted by politicians themselves. Power to veto legislation, given by the Constitution to each of the three acknowledged “constituent” ethnicities (“nations”), is often used rather for personal, clanship or political party benefit than as a control mechanism and consensus-building tool over the most sensitive (primarily identity) issues in the country. Such situations often spark inter-ethnic tensions and seriously endanger democratic process. System of checks and balances is weak, particularly due to poor ability of judiciary to impose rulings on the executive. This was especially evident after the Constitutional Court had ruled a ban on a referendum

Media scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina is highly pluralistic and diverse, while freedom of the media is only partly upheld in practice. Strong informal ethnic-gravitation or political party pressure reflects on media outlets and journalists, decreasing their objective reporting. Informal political or economic pressure is often used to silent critical journalism and influence editors. Numerous media are dependent on the public sector for advertising or subsidies, whereby government in return receives more favourable treatment. This is especially highlighted among the public broadcasters, who use to favour the government or even serve as its propaganda tool, such as Radio and Television of the Republika Srpska (RTRS). Journalists might

Constitutional Court (CC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has for several times during 2015 and 2016 ruled that certain laws or regulation in the BiH`s entity Republic of Srpska (RS) were unconstitutional, often contradicting the rulings of the entity`s CC. The most drastic case was the referendum held in RS on 25 November 2016, over the issue of an RS`s public holiday. While the CC BiH`s ruling to cancel the referendum was ignored by RS authorities, the vote took place, so far with no subsequent legal consequences for the main perpetrators. In daily practice, bribing out from a court a favorable or at least expedient ruling or sentence, or a delay of the process, is often practiced. Political interference is also present. Backlog of

State capture by political parties at all six tiers of government, huge public sector, high public spending and unclear division of responsibilities, plus poor coordination between anti-corruption actors, are the main factors that facilitate a very high level of corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), placing it behind all its neighbors. In its Corruption Perceptions Index 2016, Transparency International has put BiH, with the score 39/100, to the place 83 (of 176 countries), together with Albania, Jamaica and Lesotho. Bribery rate is very high, 27%. The situation has been stagnant for years now. High level corruption and other misuse of power by politicians is normalcy. Politicians` or their families` or proxy`s assets are often in

The heaviest burden on human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is its recent past, with many unresolved war crimes and divergent interpretations thereof. The denial of the judicially established qualification of the July 1995 crime in Srebrenica as genocide, widespread in the Serb entity RS (as well as in neighboring Serbia), is hindering reconciliation. Ethnocentrism goes beyond the treatment of past events. Hate speech might be found everywhere and extremism is in the rise. Schools are segregated, and so are the curricula. BiH`s citizens who do not belong to any of the three “constituent nations”, or those who live in ethno-religious environment different from their own, face hardships. Amnesty International, in its

Private property rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not adequately protected. Judiciary is weak and it often succumbs to out of court influences by politicians and powerful private interests; their decisions therefore can be partial and are not necessarily aligned with the existing practice. Corruptive practices within the judiciary are also present. Judicial processes are slow and inefficient, as well as enforcement of their rulings. Courts do not uphold the stipulated time standards, and the number of adjournments is not prescribed. There are also many backlogged cases, which further aggravates the situation. A number of judges in commercial cases also lack specialized knowledge or experience for specific cases, which prolongs court procedures. Although there are

Size of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina is high for a country with such a low level of economic development, with government expenditures reaching 43% of GDP in 2016. Government bureaucracy is omnipresent, with several different layers of government, which is a direct legacy of the war. All of them compete for authority and resources. In September 2016, the IMF approved an Extended Government Facility program, offering more than half a million euro in loans if necessary. The program goals are to lower the blatant wage bill and non-targeted social spending, increase capital expenditures to alleviate infrastructure bottlenecks, and strengthen the common economic structure of the country. These measures are a part of the broader Reform Agenda, whose main aim is increase in

Business environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina suffers from excessive red tape and prevalent corruptive activities. Starting a business is a very slow procedure, burdened with bureaucracy and includes not only notaries but also municipal courts and other various bodies; it also incurs high costs not only due to high fees but also due to a high minimum capital requirements. This procedure also differs between entities, with Republika Srpska establishing a more efficient one stop shop. Obtaining a construction permit and getting electricity also incur high costs due to high fees involved, as well numerous and slow procedures. Compliance with tax regulation involves a high number of payments, with complicated and inconsistent procedures, of which VAT regulations are considered

Freedom to trade internationally is generally respected in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Tariffs are mostly low, but somewhat higher than in the region, with the average applied tariff rate of 6.3%. BiH is, alongside Serbia, the only country from the South East Europe that is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its accession process has been put to a halt since 2013. The most important foreign market for BiH`s goods is the European Union, most notably Croatia and Germany. Therefore, majority of trade is conducted under the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) that in 2015 supplanted the Interim Agreement on Trade. The Protocol on Trade to the SAA was signed in December 2016, which was adapted to take into account the fact that Croatia had joined the EU.