Decision-making in the House of Peoples

Decision-making in the House of Peoples

Nine members of the House of Peoples constitute a quorum necessary for decision-making, provided that at least three Bosniak, three Croat and three Serb delegates are present. According to the Rules of Procedure of the House, decisions in the House are made by a majority vote of the delegates who are present and who vote. Delegates make efforts to include at least one third of the delegates elected from the territory of each entity in the majority, unless otherwise stipulated in the BiH Constitution and the Rules of Procedure.

If a delegate has not voted “for”, “against” or “abstained” and is present in the Hall during the vote, he or she shall be considered to have “abstained”.

In all cases, the number of counted votes must be at least equal to the quorum, except if otherwise stipulated in the BiH Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the House.

Decision-making in case of a lack of votes from one entity

If the majority vote does not include one third of votes from the territory of each entity or if it is established that a quorum does not exist, the Speaker may order a 60 minute break during which attempts will be made to find a solution.

In case there is no majority and if the contentious issue is not resolved after the break, the Speaker shall convene a Collegium within the next three days for the purpose of reaching an agreement and shall inform the delegates about the agreement without delay.

If the Collegium fails to reach an agreement the decision shall be made by the majority of the total number of delegates who are present and who vote, provided that the votes “against” are not cast by two thirds or more of the delegates elected from each entity. The House session shall be convened for the purpose of voting within the shortest period possible after the session of the Collegium and not later than three days thereafter.

If the Collegium reaches an agreement it shall inform the House accordingly, which is followed by a vote under Article 73 of the Rules of Procedure. If the vote does not result in the required majority the issue shall be put to vote immediately under Article 74 (3) of the Rules of Procedure. (elaborated in the Rules of Procedure)

In case a quorum does not exist, if the Speaker has established a continued lack of quorum after the break or the vote shows a continued lack of quorum, the discussed issue shall be postponed for the next session.