Certain measures the crisis headquarters of health ministries in Bosnia's Federation (FBiH) entity introduced to combat the coronavirus pandemic without top legislative bodies adopting them, namely the movement restrictions and making wearing face masks mandatory, are unconstitutional, BiH’s Constitutional Court said on Tuesday.

According to the court’s statement, it concluded that the interference with basic human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of BiH and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, in this case, the right to privacy and freedom of movement, which was conducted by the crisis headquarters of health ministries in the country when there was no active participation in the adoption and review of ordered measures by the highest legislative and executive bodies of the state, represents a violation of human rights and freedoms.

The decision is a result of two appeals regarding decisions by the crisis headquarters of FBiH and Canton Sarajevo to introduce curfews and make masks mandatory, lawyer Nina Kisic told N1.

She explained that the court emphasised that the executive branch of government should not have the power to introduce such measures without the top legislative body, in this case the FBiH Parliament, adopting them.