Balancing Democracy and Human Rights

Abstract

The paper examines the tension between democracy, human rights, and power-sharing constitutional arrangements in multi-ethnic states, focusing on the Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina case and contrasting it with recent Latvian cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It analyses the significance of the Kovačević judgement, which found Bosnia’s ethnic-based power-sharing system discriminatory, and the Latvian cases, where the ECtHR accepted ‘constitutional identity’ as a legitimate aim for differential treatment. The paper discusses the concept of constitutional identity, its recognition by the ECtHR, and the potential challenges it poses to the protection of human rights. It explores the balance between respecting democratic choices, constitutional identities, and upholding individual rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.