Territorial instead of ethnic federalism

The Constitutional Court also denies an assertion according to which the institutional structure of the joint institutions of BiH (Parliament, the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Constitutional Court) and the respective electoral mechanisms reflect the territorial separation of the constituent peoples in the Entities.²¹² The electoral mechanisms do not reflect ethnic but federal division. Thus, the Serb Member of the Presidency, for instance, is not only elected by voters of Serb ethnic origin, but by all citizens of the Republika Srpska.²¹³ All Delegates to the House of Representatives in both Entities elect Members of the House of Peoples. They are not elected by delegates of their ethnic group.²¹⁴ Besides, Delegates to the BiH House of Representatives, from both Entities, are not elected only by members of their ethnic group but by all citizens. The same applies to the Council of Ministers and the Constitutional Court.²¹⁵ Hence, in no way can affiliation to one ethnic group be essential, but the territory or specific institutions of the Entities serve as the legal point of reference for the election of members of the BiH institutions.²¹⁶