Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian/Croatian: Vijeće ministara Bosne i Hercegovine, Serbian: Савјет министара Босне и Херцеговине), often called Bosnian Government (Bosnian: Vlada Bosne i Hercegovine, Serbian: Влада Босне и Херцеговине), is the executive branch of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also called the Cabinet.

Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vijeće ministara Bosne i Hercegovine
Савјет министара Босне и Херцеговине
Overview
Established3 January 1997 (1997-01-03)
StateBosnia and Herzegovina
LeaderChairman of the Council of Ministers
Main organParliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ministries9 (2023)
HeadquartersTrg BiH 1, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Websitevijeceministara.gov.ba
Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Constitution
Presidency
Recent elections
Foreign relations
Political divisions
flag Bosnia and Herzegovina portal

According to Article V, Section 4 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and confirmed by the national House of Representatives. The Chairman then appoints other ministers.

Decision of the Constitutional Court

On 11 February 1999, Mirko Banjac, at the time Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instituted a request for, among other issues, the evaluation of the constitutionality of the Law on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, No. 4/97) which foresaw the existence of two Co-Chairs and a Vice-Chair of the Council of Ministers. In its decision the Court had, among other things, stated the following:

Article V.4 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina defines the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is composed of the Chair of the Council of Ministers and a certain number of ministers as may be appropriate, who are responsible for the implementation of the policy and the decisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina from within the competencies of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina appoints the Chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who assumes the office upon the approval by the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Chair of the Council of Ministers appoints the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Trade and other ministers as may be appropriate (no more than two thirds of the ministers may be appointed from the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), who assume the office upon the approval by the House of Representatives; also, the Chair appoints deputy ministers (who may not be from the same constituent people as their ministers), who assume the office upon the approval by the House of Representatives. It follows from what has been stated above that the challenged provisions of the law defining the Co-Chairs and the Vice-Chair of the Council of Ministers are not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the Constitution clearly establishes the traditional function of a Prime Minister designate who also appoints the ministers according to Article V.4 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]

The Court gave the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina a three-month period from the date of publication of its decision on this matter in the "Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina" to bring the contested provisions of the Law in conformity with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the Parliamentary Assembly failed to do that, the Court, acting upon the request of the applicant and pursuant to its decision of 14 August 1999 and the legal standpoint exemplified in the reasons of the decision, established that certain provisions of the Law on Ministers and Ministries shall cease to be valid.[2]

Responsibilities
The Greece–Bosnia and Herzegovina Friendship Building (glazed building), headquarters of the Council of Ministers

The Council is responsible for carrying out the policies and decisions in the fields of:

Standing Bodies of the Council of Ministers
  • General Secretariat
  • Economic Directorate
  • Internal Politics Directorate
  • Directorate for European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bureau for Legal Matters

Current cabinet
Main article: Cabinet of Borjana Krišto

The Cabinet is structured into the offices for the chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, the two vice chairs and 9 ministries.[3]

← Krišto Cabinet →
(25 January 2023 – present)
Portfolio Minister Establishment
Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers Borjana Krišto 3 January 1997
Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations
Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers		 Staša Košarac 3 January 1997
Minister of Defence
Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers		 Zukan Helez 9 March 2004
Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konaković 3 January 1997
Minister of Finance and Treasury Srđan Amidžić 22 June 2000
Minister of Security Nenad Nešić 23 December 2002
Minister of Justice Davor Bunoza 23 December 2002
Minister of Civil Affairs Dubravka Bošnjak 23 December 2002
Minister of Communication and Traffic Edin Forto 23 December 2002
Minister of Human Rights and Refugees Sevlid Hurtić 22 June 2000

See also

References
  1. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, U-1/99 Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, para. 4 and 5, Sarajevo, 14 August 1999
  2. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, U-1/99 Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Sarajevo, 29 January 2000
  3. "Ministarstva". vijeceministara.gov.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.