European standards of pluralism

To this end, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights occupies the most significant place, as it is directly applicable in the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina and has priority over all other law (Article II/2. of the Constitution of BiH). Admittedly, although the Constitutional Court of BiH had refused to assign to the ECHR “a supraconstitutional” rank from this provision,¹⁴⁴ the rights laid down in the ECHR have the same status as the constitutional rights and freedoms, and the Constitutional Court of BiH is being mindful of the State avoiding the adoption of judgments to its detriment in Strasbourg.

To the extent to which it is possible for the European case law on pluralism to be systematised, one might say that there are two directions: one is traditional and is found in the majority of national constitutional systems and, by relying on the principle of classical separation of state and society, it builds a society on the basis of the independent and free competition of social forces; the other one is new, and it depends on the internal state cultural pluralism, and its goal is to protect cultural, religious and social minorities.