Maja Sahadzic

• PhD
• Assistant Professor at Utrecht University

Constitutional asymmetry, as a form of territorial diversity management, is an important federal device for multinational systems. While acknowledging the possible impact on the territorial integrity of the system, this chapter examines how constitutional engineering can mitigate this effect. To this end, the chapter defines federal systems as syst...

In March 2024, the High Representative (HR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Christian Schmidt, once again used his “Bonn powers” under the Dayton Peace Agreement which, inter alia, enable him to impose substantial legislation. After a dark warning, he enacted a new package of reforms concerning the electoral process. While these reforms reflect th...

In their recent article “Constricted Rights and Imagined Identities: Peace and Accountability Processes and Constitution-Making in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Alma Begicevic and Jennifer Balint argue that underlying reasons for the seemingly sudden establishment of the complex constitutional arrangements in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) are associated w...

Ustavi se obično pišu tako da budu jasni i precizni i stoga je uobičajeno da jasno i precizno odražavaju namjere ustavotvorca. Međutim, teško da se to može ustvrditi za Ustav Bosne i Hercegovine (BiH) koji je nastao kao sastavni dio mirovnog sporazuma donesenog kao rezul- tat međunarodne intervencije i pomoći. Kao takav, Ustav BiH predstavlja okvir...

Erratum: na prvoj stranici, u prvom redu, umjesto 2006 treba da stoji 1995. Natuknica o individualnim predstavkama pred Ustavnim sudom BiH.

Popis stanovništva iz 2013. godine pokazao se kao kamen spoticanja u nekim važnim događajima u BiH, posebno onima koji se tiču izbora i Izbornog zakona BiH. Nakon dugotrajnih etničkih obračuna, u predmetu Ljubić iz 2016., Ustavni sud BiH je Uputom koju je donijela Centralna izborna komisija BiH uveo podjelu mandata na temelju posljednjeg popisa sta...

The 2013 census proved to be a stumbling block in some important events in BiH, especially those related to elections and the Electoral Law of BiH. After prolonged ethnic confrontations, in the 2016 Ljubić case, the Constitutional Court of BiH (CCBiH) introduced the division of mandates based on the latest census from 2013, instead of the 1991 cens...

To date, the study of federalism in comparative constitutional law has been subject to considerable discussion. In particular, investigating how federalism can be explored as a device for managing internal conflicts is a continuing concern within this field. Equally important, federalism studies have gradually gained importance in international pub...

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/bhs/zone/Bosna-i-Hercegovina/Ustavna-kriza-u-Bosni-i-Hercegovini-Ovog-puta-je-drugacije-214710

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/aree/Bosnia-Erzegovina/Crisi-costituzionale-in-Bosnia-Erzegovina-questa-volta-e-diverso-214710

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Bosnia-Herzegovina/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina-s-constitutional-crisis-Is-this-time-different-214710

https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/search/node?keys=maja+sahadzic

In this chapter, we examine in particular, how asymmetry can be reconciled with the constitutional value of equality. First, we define (constitutional) asymmetry and identify, more specifically, where asymmetry equals inequality. Is asymmetry in representation discriminatory or does it simply reflect differences in size and population? Second, we i...

Most studies in territorial governance seem to disregard the importance of the link between territory and identity. Meanwhile, this link is connected to territorial conflicts based on identity differences. Evident from the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), identity-based territorial conflicts can generate identity-based territorial reconfigu...

In 2019, the Central Election Commission (Commission) of Bosnia and Herzegovina—the body responsible for the organization and conduct of national elections—found itself under intense scrutiny. In 2016, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Court) ruled that several provisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Election Law did not conform wi...

This paper explores the difficulties with multinationalism that lead to crises and conflicts; and the variation in effects and responses between traditional types of crises and the crises caused by multinationalism. To overcome impediments associated with the traditional concept, the paper emphasizes the role of constitutional asymmetries in addres...

Most traditional federal theory remains rooted in the notion that asymmetrical constitutional arrangements within a state structure are somewhat exceptional. According to contemporary federal theory, however, recent systems are multi-tiered and multinational, producing asymmetrical responses by default. In addition to suggesting that asymmetrical s...

To examine the link between constitutional asymmetry and multinationalism, five hypotheses were designed to untangle the matter. This part of the edited volume is then reserved for the validation of hypotheses. The country reports make it clear that political asymmetries do not always generate constitutional asymmetries but even then, they may lead...

Based on the Dayton Peace Agreement the present system of Bosnia and Herzegovina is arranged around three constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs), two very dominant entities (the Federation of B&H and the Republic of Srpska), and one weak central level, which is in daily political discourse referred to as “joint institutions”. The Brčko D...

Constitutional asymmetry means that the component units of a federation do not have equal relationships with each other and the federal authority. While in traditional federal theories this is considered an anomaly, leading to instability, other scholars have presented asymmetry as a form of multinational conflict management in multinational multi-...

This short contribution challenges traditional perspectives in federalism studies by addressing the concept of constitutional asymmetry as an alternative approach and by examining the potentials of constitutional asymmetry. In relation to multinationalism in systems with federal arrangements, the contribution demonstrates that the use of constituti...

Autonomy claims are a major aspect of federalism studies. Regardless of the importance of this topic, it has remained influenced to large extent by traditional studies in federalism. Thus, while emphasizing autonomy claims, most traditional federal theory remains rooted in two opposing concepts: the concept of sovereignty and the closely related ri...

U ustavnopravnom sustavu Bosne i Hercegovine, postupak zaštite vitalnog nacionalnog interesa, kao “veto mehanizam” pri odlučivanju predstavlja iznimno važnu ulogu pri učinkovitom djelovanju parlamenata, posebice na državnoj i entitetskoj razini. To stoga jer ravnopravnost tri konstitutivna naroda predstavlja temeljno načelo na kojem počiva vlast na...