Coat of arms and flag of the Federation of BiH

According to the opinion of the Constitutional Court, the coat of arms and the flag of the Federation of BiH are in violation of the principle of prohibition of discrimination based on national or ethnic grounds,²³³⁵ as well as the constitutional principle of constituent people status because only the Bosniaks and Croats are represented by those symbols, not the Serbs in the Federation of BiH.²³³⁶ It is true that Croats and Bosniaks in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the legitimate right to preserve their tradition, culture and identity through legislative mechanisms, but an equal right must be given to Serbs as a constituent people and to other citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all the more so as the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina defines the identity of the constituent peoples such as education, religion, language, fostering culture, tradition and cultural heritage as vital interests of the constituent peoples. Such right, in dealing with the symbols of the Federation of BiH, was not given to the Serb people as the status of constituent people was not acknowledged by the Constitution of the Federation of BiH at the time of passing the challenged laws.²³³⁷ Further, the coat of arms and the flag of the Federation of BiH are in violation of the Entities’ obligation under Article 2(a) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. According to the Convention, the Entity shall refrain from engaging in any act or practice of racial discrimination; in other words, the Entity must “undertake effective measures to review governmental, national and local policies, and to amend, rescind or nullify any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination wherever it exists”.²³³⁸