Home > 4.3 Regional and federate elections > BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - Amicus Curiae Brief for the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Mode of Election of Delegates to the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 
 
 
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Paragraph 55
 

The Federation’s House of Peoples does not have the role of a directly elected House of Representatives, but rather has a membership designed to reflect the constitutionally designed equality (proportionality) as between constituent peoples and the inclusion of others. The method of electing the delegates to the House of Peoples uses the cantons and their delegates. While this has the added advantage of a geographical spread, the primary purpose of the House of Peoples is not to represent cantons, but rather to represent constituent peoples and others. It therefore embodies another type of equality i.e. the “collective equality” of the three constituent peoples plus a fixed representation of others. In addition, it has an important role to play in the vital interest procedure and could be seen as a “veto” chamber of the Federation’s Legislature.