vizualinacija.BSBosanski

How is BiH governed?

One state, two entities and a district with special status. Explore where decisions are made, who chooses institutions and how their responsibilities differ.

Institutions and responsibilities, without parties or current officeholders.

Explore the territorial diagram
Bosnia and HerzegovinaState
Federation of BiHEntity
10 cantonsOnly in the Federation of BiH
  1. 01Una-Sana Canton
  2. 02Posavina Canton
  3. 03Tuzla Canton
  4. 04Zenica-Doboj Canton
  5. 05Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde
  6. 06Central Bosnia Canton
  7. 07Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
  8. 08West Herzegovina Canton
  9. 09Sarajevo Canton
  10. 10Canton 10
Municipalities and citiesLocal self-government
Republika SrpskaEntity

No cantonal level

Municipalities and citiesLocal self-government
Brčko District of BiHSpecial statusSelected

A unit of local self-government under BiH sovereignty. Not a third entity.

Territorial connections, not a chain of command. Constitutions and laws divide responsibilities; Brčko has a special status.

Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Special unit of local self-government

Brčko District is not a third entity. It is a single administrative unit of local self-government under the sovereignty of BiH. Its territory is jointly owned by the two entities, a condominium, but the District’s own institutions exercise everyday government.

Institutions and how they are chosen

Assembly of Brčko District of BiH31 representatives

Legislative authority: adopts District laws and the budget, sets general policy and oversees the executive.

Election / appointment: Citizens elect it at local elections. The Assembly elects the mayor; citizens do not elect the mayor directly.

Mayor and District Government

Executive authority: implement District laws and the budget; the mayor heads the Government and administration.

Election / appointment: The Assembly elects the mayor from among its members under the Statute. The mayor appoints the other Government members under the Statute’s rules; the Government is accountable to the Assembly.

District Basic and Appellate Courts

Judicial authority: the District’s separate ordinary judicial system, independent of its Government. The Appellate Court decides appeals provided for by law.

Election / appointment: The HJPC of BiH appoints judges through the statutory procedure. The District Prosecutor’s Office is a separate criminal prosecution institution.

Institutions at this level

What is this level responsible for?

  • District education, health, social protection, police and judiciary within the Statute and laws.
  • The District’s economy and finance, public property, utility services, infrastructure, housing, spatial planning, culture and environment.
  • The District combines a wide range of functions that elsewhere are distributed between entity, cantonal and local bodies; it is not divided into cantons.

Important distinctions

  • The BiH Constitution and applicable laws and decisions of BiH institutions apply directly. Entity authority is not shown as a regular superior administrative level in the District.
  • Its special position rests on arbitral awards, the Statute and Amendment I to the BiH Constitution. The Constitutional Court of BiH may resolve constitutional disputes concerning protection of that position.
  • International supervision derives from the arbitration framework; it is not an elected domestic branch of government or an ordinary level of local administration.