Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Also known as:
  • Kantoni Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (Bosnian)
    Županije Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (Croatian)
    Кантони Федерације Босне и Херцеговине (Serbian)
CategoryFederal unit
LocationFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Created
  • 12 June 1996
Number10 Cantons
Populations23,734 (Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde) – 445,028 (Tuzla)
Areas325 km2 (125.5 sq mi) (Posavina) – 4,934 km2 (1,905.1 sq mi) (Canton 10)
Government
  • Cantonal government
Subdivisions
  • Municipality

The ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are its federal units with a high level of autonomy. The cantons were established by the Law on Federal Units (Cantons) on 12 June 1996 as a result of the Washington Agreement of 1994 between the representatives of the Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks.

Five of the cantons have a Bosniak majority: Una-Sana Canton, Tuzla Canton, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde and Sarajevo Canton; three have a Croat majority: Posavina Canton, West Herzegovina Canton and Canton 10, and the two cantons are regarded as ethnically mixed: Central Bosnia Canton and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. The most populous canton is Tuzla Canton, while Canton 10 is the largest by area.

Creation

The cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are a result of an artificial application of 1993 Vance–Owen Peace Plan for the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, applied only to one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1] The plan originally foresaw the cantonization of the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2]

The cantons were to be named after rivers and cities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the tradition from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's naming of banates in 1929.[1]

The ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were created by the Law on Federal Units (Cantons), enacted by the Constituent Assembly of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 12 June 1996.[3] Of these, five have Bosniak and three Croat majorities, while two cantons are mixed.[4] The cantons with Bosniak-majority are: Una-Sana Canton, Tuzla Canton, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde and Sarajevo Canton, while the Croat-majority cantons are Posavina Canton, West Herzegovina Canton and Canton 10. The two mixed cantons are Central Bosnia Canton and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.[5]

Jurisdiction

As the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created on the principle of decentralisation, the cantons have strong autonomy which is guaranteed by a long list of exclusive jurisdictions in the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including police, education, cultural policy, housing policy, public services, local economic policy, energy policy, media policy, welfare, tourism and the right of the cantons to introduce taxation and borrow money. Other jurisdictions are shared with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including enforcement of human rights, health and environmental policy, infrastructure, social welfare, tourism and natural resources. Although in some areas the constitution foresaw a mixed jurisdiction between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cantons, such as tourism and energy policy, the cantons are the dominant actors. The principle of decentralisation is especially emphasised in the two mixed cantons, where the decisions regarding core issues, such as education, are left in the jurisdiction of the municipalities.[4]

Governance

The cantons consist of municipalities. A canton has its own government headed by a premier. The premier has his own cabinet, and is assisted in his duties by various cantonal ministries, agencies, and cantonal services. Five of the cantons (Una-Sana, Tuzla, Zenica-Doboj, Bosnian-Podrinje, and Sarajevo) have a Bosniak majority, three (Posavina, West Herzegovina and Canton 10) have a Bosnian Croat majority, while two of them (Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva) are "ethnically mixed", meaning neither ethnic group has a majority and there are special legislative procedures for the protection of their political interests.

Coat of
arms 		No. Abbr English name Center Population (2013) Bosniaks % Croats % Serbs % Area (km2) Density Municipalities
1 USK
USŽ 		Una-Sana Canton Bihać 273,261 246,012 90.03% 5,073 1.86% 8,452 3.09% 4,125.0 69.8 8
2 PK
ŽP 		Posavina Canton Orašje 43,453 8,252 18.99% 33,600 77.32% 831 1.91% 324.6 124.8 3
3 TK
TŽ 		Tuzla Canton Tuzla 445,028 392,356 88.16% 23,592 5.30% 7,058 1.59% 2,649.0 187.9 13
4 ZDK
ZDŽ 		Zenica-Doboj Canton Zenica 364,433 299,452 82.17% 43,819 12.02% 5,543 1.52% 3,334.3 119.9 12
5 BPK
BPŽ 		Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde Goražde 23,734 22,313 94.01% 24 0.10% 885 3.73% 504.6 65.8 3
6 SBK
ŽSB 		Central Bosnia Canton Travnik 254,686 146,652 57.58% 97,629 38.33% 3,043 1.19% 3,189 80.2 12
7 HNK
HNŽ 		Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Mostar 222,007 92,005 41.44% 118,297 53.29% 6,432 2.90% 4,401 51.5 9
8 ZHK
ŽZH 		West Herzegovina Canton Široki Brijeg 94,898 718 0.76% 93,725 98.77% 101 0.11% 1,362.2 60.1 4
9 KS
SŽ 		Sarajevo Canton Sarajevo 413,593 346,575 83.80% 17,520 4.24% 13,300 3.22% 1,276.9 329.9 9
10 K10
HBŽ 		Canton 10 Livno 84,127 8,037 9.55% 64,604 76.79% 10,905 12.96% 4,934.9 16.5 6
FBiH Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 2,219,220 1,562,372 70.40% 497,883 22.44% 56,550 2.55% 26,110.0 89.1 79

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Keil 2016, p. 112.
  2. ^ Keil 2016, p. 77.
  3. ^ Jurilj 2017, p. 127.
  4. ^ a b Keil 2016, p. 111.
  5. ^ Gavrić & Banović 2012, p. 142.

References

Books

  • Gavrić, Saša; Banović, Damir, eds. (2012). Parlamentarizam u Bosni i Hercegovini. Sarajevo: Sarajevski otvoreni centar/Fondacija Friedrich Ebert. ISBN 9789958536014.
  • Keil, Soeren (2016). Multinational Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781317093435.

Journals

  • Jurilj, Lana (2017). "Država kao subjekt međunarodnog prava s posebnim osvrtom na Bosnu i Hercegovinu". Mostariensia. 21 (1): 83–95. doi:10.47960/2831-0322.