ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jens Woelk

Jens Woelk is a full professor of comparative constitutional law at the University of Trento (Italy), at the Faculty of Law and the interdisciplinary School of International Studies (“Euregio chair”). He also works at the Institute for Comparative Federalism (Eurac Research) in Bolzano/Bozen. His research interests include federalism/regionalism, comparative constitutional law and European Union law, minority rights and the constitutional transformation processes in Southeast Europe.
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POSTS BY Jens Woelk

01 September 2023

Jens Woelk

Opening Pandora’s Box?

Bosnia and Herzegovina is widely known as a “complex State” that has struggled to progress towards EU accession due to internal divisions. More than 25 years after the war ended, the country seems to remain stuck in transition. Recently, secession claims from Republika Srpska (RS) have become more concrete, a crisis has been triggered around the Constitutional Court. Amid these dynamic developments, a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) could cause tensions, if not even the opening of Pandora’s box: After a series of previous judgments of a similar kind, on 29 August, 2023, the ECtHR published its judgment in the case of Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina. The judgment is a fundamental and systemic critique of the power-sharing arrangements and clearly determines the direction any constitutional amendment or reform needs to take: The only possible way is to reduce the institutional relevance of ethnicity and of the privileged status of ‘constituent peoples’. Continue reading >>

07 October 2022

Jens Woelk, Maja Sahadžić

Cutting the Gordian Knot in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Just after the polling stations on October 2, 2022, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) had closed, High Representative Christian Schmidt dropped a bombshell when he imposed changes to the Election Law of BiH as well as 21 amendments to the Constitution of the Federation of BiH. It was the second decision of the High Representative regarding this year’s elections in BiH. Their recent impact to change the BiH Election Law on the evening of the elections as well as constitutional amendments raises the question of the sustainability of this complex post-conflict arrangement in BiH. Was the quick fix by the High Representative necessary, useful and justified? Continue reading >>

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