The European Court of Human rights has ruled that Bosnia's constitution discriminates against minorities and should be reformed.

The ruling was issued in a case brought by the head of a Roma association and the former head of the Jewish community of Sarajevo. They argued that their status prevented them from running for president or member of the upper house of parliament. Under the contitution agreed as part of the 1995 Dayton accord which ended four years of civil war, power is shared by Serbs, Croats and Muslims, excluding any minorities. The court rejected as premature adopting a fully inclusive power-sharing mechanism. But it added that other existing mechanisms do allow minorities to share power.

The Bosnian flag (Photo: Wikipedia)