Editing Bosnia and Herzegovina (section)

===Government===
{{Main|Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
[[File:Map Bih entities.png|thumb|Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (FBiH), [[Republika Srpska]] (RS) and [[Brčko District]] (BD)]]

As a result of the [[Dayton Agreement]], the civilian peace implementation is supervised by the [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina]] selected by the [[Peace Implementation Council]] (PIC). The High Representative is the highest political authority in the country. The High Representative has many governmental and legislative powers, including the dismissal of elected and non-elected officials. Due to the vast powers of the High Representative over [[Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian politics]] and essential [[veto]] powers, the position has also been compared to that of a [[viceroy]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Two visions for Bosnia |url=https://www.economist.com/eastern-approaches/2011/04/13/two-visions-for-bosnia |newspaper=The Economist |date=13 April 2011 |access-date=12 July 2020 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712152241/https://www.economist.com/eastern-approaches/2011/04/13/two-visions-for-bosnia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Carlos Westendorp, Bosnia's Euro-Spanish viceroy |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/1998/09/03/carlos-westendorp-bosnias-euro-spanish-viceroy |newspaper=The Economist |date=3 September 1998 |access-date=12 July 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713162742/https://www.economist.com/europe/1998/09/03/carlos-westendorp-bosnias-euro-spanish-viceroy |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Interview: Christian Schwarz-Schilling, High Representative for BiH: "The Last Bosnian Viceroy" |url=http://www.ohr.int/interview-christian-schwarz-schilling-high-representative-for-bih-the-last-bosnian-viceroy-4/ |website=Office of the High Representative |language=sr-RS |date=31 March 2006 |access-date=12 July 2020 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714005227/http://www.ohr.int/interview-christian-schwarz-schilling-high-representative-for-bih-the-last-bosnian-viceroy-4/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Google books|55NPpA6EvyMC|A Biographical Encyclopedia of Contemporary Genocide: Portraits of Evil and Good|page=25|keywords=Viceroy|text=|plainurl=}}</ref>

Politics take place in a framework of a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy]], whereby [[Executive (government)|executive power]] is exercised by the [[Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. [[Legislature|Legislative power]] is vested in both the Council of Ministers and the [[Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly are chosen according to a [[proportional representation]] (PR) system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parlament.ba/Content/Read/182?title=ParlamentarizamuBosniiHercegoviniuperiodu1945.%E2%80%931990.&lang=en|title=Parliamentarism in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period 1945 – 1990|website=parlament.ba|access-date=24 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913174033/http://parlament.ba/Content/Read/182?title=ParlamentarizamuBosniiHercegoviniuperiodu1945.%E2%80%931990.&lang=en|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccbh.ba/public/down/USTAV_BOSNE_I_HERCEGOVINE_engl.pdf|title=Open and transparent budget process in Western Balkan countries|author=Marjan Nikolov and Borce Trenovski and Gabriela Dimovska|publisher=MPRA Paper No. 76299|year=2015|access-date=1 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028162530/http://www.ccbh.ba/public/down/USTAV_BOSNE_I_HERCEGOVINE_engl.pdf|archive-date=28 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a [[liberal democracy]].{{clarify|date=January 2023}} It has several levels of political structuring, according to the [[Dayton Agreement]]. The most important of these levels is the division of the country into two entities: the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[Republika Srpska]]. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina covers 51% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's total area, while Republika Srpska covers 49%. The entities, based largely on the territories held by the two warring sides at the time, were formally established by the Dayton Agreement in 1995 because of the tremendous changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina's ethnic structure. At the national level, there exists only a finite set of exclusive or joint competencies, whereas the majority of authority rests within the entities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kapidžić |first=Damir |chapter=Subnational competitive authoritarianism and power-sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003208327-5/subnational-competitive-authoritarianism-power-sharing-bosnia-herzegovina-damir-kapid%C5%BEi%C4%87 |title=Illiberal Politics in Southeast Europe |year=2021 |pages=79–99 |access-date=2023-03-29 |doi=10.4324/9781003208327-5|isbn=9781003208327 }}</ref> [[Sumantra Bose]] describes Bosnia and Herzegovina as a consociational [[confederation]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |author-link=Sumantra Bose |date=2003 |title=Bosnia after Dayton. Nationalist Partition and International Intervention |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=21 |isbn=9781850656456}}</ref>

The [[Brčko District]] in the north of the country was created in 2000, out of land from both entities. It officially belongs to both, but is governed by neither, and functions under a decentralized system of local government. For election purposes, Brčko District voters can choose to participate in either the Federation or Republika Srpska elections. The Brčko District has been praised for maintaining a multiethnic population and a level of prosperity significantly above the national average.<ref name="OHR">OHR Bulletin 66 (3 February 1998). [http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/presso/chronology/bulletins/default.asp?content_id=4991#8&nbsp;– Final hearing of the Arbitration Tribunal in Vienna] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605052623/http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/presso/chronology/bulletins/default.asp?content_id=4991#8&nbsp; |date=5 June 2015 }}. OHR.</ref>

{{Multiple image
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| image1 = Parliament (6042784223).jpg
| caption1 = Bosnia and Herzegovina's [[Greece–Bosnia and Herzegovina Friendship Building|government building]] in [[Sarajevo]]
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| caption2  = [[Palace of the Republic, Banja Luka|Palace of the Republic]] in [[Banja Luka]]
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The third level of Bosnia and Herzegovina's political subdivision is manifested in [[Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|cantons]]. They are unique to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, which consists of ten of them. Each has a cantonal government, which is under the law of the Federation as a whole. Some cantons are ethnically mixed and have special laws to ensure the equality of all constituent people.<ref name="Mansfield 2003 pp. 2052–2093">{{cite journal|last=Morawiec Mansfield|first=Anna|title=Ethnic but Equal: The Quest for a New Democratic Order in Bosnia and Herzegovina|journal=Columbia Law Review|publisher=Columbia Law Review Association, Inc.|volume=103|issue=8|year=2003|issn=0010-1958|pages=2052–2093|doi=10.2307/3593383|jstor=3593383|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3593383|access-date=2021-06-22|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102161309/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3593383|url-status=live}}</ref>

The fourth level of political division in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the [[Municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina|municipalities]]. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into 79 municipalities, and Republika Srpska into 64. Municipalities also have their own local government, and are typically based on the most significant city or place in their territory. As such, many municipalities have a long tradition and history with their present boundaries. Some others, however, were only created following the recent war after traditional municipalities were split by the [[Inter-Entity Boundary Line]]. Each canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of several municipalities, which are divided into local communities.<ref name="CoR">{{cite web | title=Division of Powers – Bosnia-Herzegovina | website=CoR | url=https://portal.cor.europa.eu/divisionpowers/Pages/Bosnia-Herzegovina.aspx | access-date=2021-06-22 | archive-date=24 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203658/https://portal.cor.europa.eu/divisionpowers/Pages/Bosnia-Herzegovina.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref>

Besides entities, cantons, and municipalities, Bosnia and Herzegovina also has four "official" cities. These are: [[Banja Luka]], [[Mostar]], [[Sarajevo]] and [[Istočno Sarajevo|East Sarajevo]]. The territory and government of the cities of Banja Luka and Mostar corresponds to the municipalities of the same name, while the cities of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo officially consist of several municipalities. Cities have their own city government whose power is in between that of the municipalities and cantons (or the entity, in the case of Republika Srpska).

More recently, several central institutions have been established (such as a [[defence minister|defense ministry]], security ministry, state court, [[indirect tax]]ation service and so on) in the process of transferring part of the jurisdiction from the entities to the state. The representation of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is by elites who represent the country's three major groups, with each having a guaranteed share of power.

The [[Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Chair]] of the [[Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] rotates among three members ([[Bosniaks|Bosniak]], [[Serbs|Serb]], [[Croats|Croat]]), each elected as the chair for an eight-month term within their four-year term as a member. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly by the people, with Federation voters voting for the Bosniak and the Croat and the Republika Srpska voters voting for the Serb.

The [[Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Chair of the Council of Ministers]] is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the parliamentary [[House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina|House of Representatives]]. The Chair of the Council of Ministers is then responsible for appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade and others as appropriate.

The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the [[House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina|House of Peoples]] and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples has 15 delegates chosen by parliaments of the entities, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Bosniaks and 5 Croats) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members elected by the people under a form of proportional representation, two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from Republika Srpska.<ref name="Heath-Brown 2017 p. 221">{{cite book | last=Heath-Brown | first=N. | title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2016: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-349-57823-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDkUDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 | access-date=2021-06-22 | page=221 | archive-date=14 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214150504/https://books.google.com/books?id=lDkUDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine members: four members are selected by the [[House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Federal House of Representatives]], two by the [[National Assembly (Republika Srpska)|National Assembly of Republika Srpska]] and three by the President of the [[European Court of Human Rights]] after consultation with the Presidency, who cannot be Bosnian citizens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccbh.ba/o-sudu/?title=ustrojstvo |title='Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Organization'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224192030/http://www.ccbh.ba/o-sudu/?title=ustrojstvo|archive-date=24 February 2021}}</ref>

However, the highest political authority in the country is the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the chief [[executive officer]] for the international civilian presence in the country and is selected by the [[European Union]]. Since 1995, the High Representative has been able to bypass the elected parliamentary assembly, and since 1997 has been able to remove elected officials. The methods selected by the High Representative have been criticized as undemocratic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol7num2/special/bosnia.html |title='The Contradictions of "Democracy" without Consent', East European Constitutional Review, New York University Law School, 1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517144513/http://www.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol7num2/special/bosnia.html |archive-date=17 May 2013}}</ref> International supervision [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina#Conditions for closure of the Office of the High Representative|is to end when the country is deemed politically and democratically stable and self-sustaining]].