Bosnia and Herzegovina Federal state

Reforms

Discussions are underway in the country to change the legislation pertaining to local governements in the two entities.

In the Republika Srpska, a proposal is being prepared by the government which aims to give a legal framework to inter-municipal cooperation, even if it is already quite widespread. This new legislation should make the work of local governements in this area easier, while also allowing for greater efficiency and savings in resources. The government also seeks to promote the exchange of best practices among the entity’s different local governements. While 2012 saw the debate on the law on self-government stalled, a new draft was to be re-tabled in 2013.

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, drafts of texts were adopted in 2012 modifying specific areas such as concessions or forest management. More importantly, further reforms should lead to an increase in financial resources: the share on personal income tax received by municipalities is expected to increase by 19% by the end of the 2013. As a result of good partnership between the government and the national association of municipalities, these changes are a step forward toward greater decentralisation. One proposal specifically aims to modify the wages and benefits for local government employees.

The countries’ municipalities thus do not appear to have been too adversely affected by the economic and financial crisis, even if local governements have sought to rationalize their actions and to cut expenditures. New changes may nonetheless affect the remuneration of local civil servants.

Local self-government in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

While the specific way in which the country is organised allows for a particular multiplication of institutional layers to persist, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international commitments ensure proper respect for local self-government and allow for legislative changes in favour of greater decentralisation, both political and financial.

KEY REFORMS

• 2004: act on local self-government in Republika Srpska.
• 2006: act on the principles of local self-government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the Republika Srpska:

• Draft reforms on an institutional framework for inter-municipal cooperation
• Local public administration efficiency programmes
• Incentives for local governements to share best practice
• Proposed amendment to the local government act

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

• New rules on concessions and forest management
• Amendments to the act on civil registry system management
• New shared tax calculation method to improve local government taxation
• New calculation method for local civil servants’ pay