News in English     | 19.03.2018. 16:55 |

‘Circle 99’ warns of incorrect translation of BiH Constitution

FENA Press release

SARAJEVO, March 19 (FENA) - The Association of Independent Intellectuals ‘Circle 99’, considering the all-present political rhetoric dominated by the term "constitutiveness", has pointed to an incorrect legal interpretation in the translation and implementation of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina when this term is in question.

As it is explained in the statement of the Association, historically speaking, the term "constitutive peoples" is rooted in the formulations of the constitution of the former USSR and the Soviet constitutional and legal terminology and ideology, and such a concept has a completely different meaning from the one that is integral part of the original Constitution of BiH, consisted in the Dayton Peace Agreement.

The terms also referred to the way individual human rights were consumed, as they were subordinate to the collective rights of the 22 ethnic groups in the then USSR, and individual civil rights were neglected and suffered tremendously in favor of the collective rights of the people of the then USSR.

In the context of BiH, it should be emphasized, stated  the Circle 99, that the Office of the High Representative (OHR), as the interpreter of the Dayton Framework Agreement, said that all the annexes to the agreement, and therefore Annex IV, the Constitution of BiH respectively, are valid in the official version in the English language.

Therefore, the Circle 99 points to the original indent 10, of the Preamble of the Constitution of BiH, which the political elites in BiH translate and interpret as in the aforementioned Soviet concept of the "constitutive peoples", even though the actual legal term in the Constitution is "constituent", which has a different legal and ideological meaning than that of Soviet ideological totalitarianism.

The Association believes that a political rhetoric of "equality of constitutive peoples" is incompatible with European principles and standards, which guarantee all individuals their civil rights, as indicated in the negotiating chapter No. 23 of the European acquis communautaire.

The Circle 99 also recalled the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Zornić v. BiH case, where it is stated that “due to the tragic conflict it was necessary to agree to the "constituent peoples", but that today, there can be no reason to still uphold the controversial constitutional provisions.

“As this court also noted that the term "constituent peoples", regardless in what way it has been used by domestic political elites, arose as a consequence of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and therefore we urge political parties, finally after 22 years, to begin using this term in its original meaning in order to ensure rights, freedoms and equality for all BiH citizens,” it is concluded in the statement of the association ‘Circle 99’.

(FENA) S. R.

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