ANNUAL REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitution of the Republika Srpska provides that the official
languages of the Republika Srpska are the Serbian language, the Croatian language and the
language of the Bosniak people, and the official letters are Cyrillic and Latin. The Constitution of
the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Statute of the Brčko District of BiH provide
that the official languages of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the Brčko District of
BiH, are Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian, while the official letters are Cyrillic and Latin. A
comprehensive analysis of legislation regulating the issue of official languages and scripts in the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, more specifically by cantons, is available in the Special
Report on the Use of Official Languages and Scripts in Bosnia and Herzegovina 498.
All persons in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the right to use one
of the official languages, that is, the official letter, whereby the term "use" cannot be narrowly
construed and as such is not guaranteed, not only does the citizen have the right to speak and write
in one of the three official languages and letters, but also includes the right to receive the
information they receive in their language, to have official documents, forms available in all three
language variants…, or to use their native tongue in all aspects of life, including the printing and
issuing of official documents and forms.
It is important to emphasize that none of the existing regulations in force in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska establishes
criteria for ensuring, in practice, the equal use of official languages and letters, and that The issuing
of official documents and forms in all three official languages and scripts in Bosnia and
Herzegovina is uneven, although the use of official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina is
prescribed by all constitutions and lower legal acts.
In the light of all of the above, the following ways of selecting the criteria for using official
languages appear in practice:
-
the native tongue of the party, if indicated by the party;
the native tongue of the document handler 499;
or all materials are compiled or published on the official website of the Authority in all
three language versions and on both official letters 500.
Example: Ombudsmen acted on complaint 501 in which the Public Enterprise Sarajevo
International Airport is designated as the responsible party. The complainant alleges that for an
extended period of time the employer has been exposed to discrimination on the basis of language,
harassment and mobbing caused by discrimination. During the investigation procedure, the
Ombudsmen found that the complainant was not prevented from using his or her native (Croatian)
tongue and that the problem arises in external communication, where the question arises as to
498
https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/documents/obmudsmen_doc2017051211015795cro.pdf
Example - Act of the Civil Service Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. 01-02-2-1297/17 of 29 December 2017
entitled Policy of the use of languages and scripts in the Civil Service Agency http://www.ads.gov.ba/v2/attachments/4659_politika-upotrebe-jezka.pdf
500
Example - Website of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Website of the Parliament of the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
501
Ž-SA-06-479/19
499
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