Elements of direct democracy in legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina: analysis, developments and perspectives

Abstract

Mechanisms of direct democracy enable citizens to get involved in the decision-making processes over common values and questions of general interest, either by initiating certain laws and regulations or simply by deciding upon the public policy proposals made by the government. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, elements of direct democracy are not consistently represented throughout the country due to the specificity of its structure and constitutional history. Various scholars have diametrically opposed views on these forms of decision-making and continue arguing either in favour or against their application in complex and multicultural states. The greatest concern is whether mechanisms of direct democracy indeed provide majority group within one state with a power to blatantly outvote minorities and thus endanger their rights, or rather serve as a tool for promotion and better protection of minority rights and civil rights in general. As of yet, there are not enough comprehensive empirical studies of the concrete effects of direct democracy in multicultural societies, with lots of hypotheses still remaining in the field of speculation. Nevertheless, its mere idea delivers much more positive and constructive elements for a society that declares itself as being democratic. After trying to firstly (a) define the notion and variations of different mechanisms of direct democracy, this paper (b) delves into the complex legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, relying on the comparative and descriptive method in analysing and interpreting the existing data (primary sources – legal documents, and secondary sources – academic contributions), and (c) reflects on the recent developments and searches for the specific elements of direct democracy, while evaluating possible outcomes of their concrete application in a divided multiethnic society of Bosnia and Herzegovina, concluding with (d) the framing of policy recommendations on the basis of findings using the prescriptive method.