The rule of law is one of the key criteria that candidate countries must fulfil on the path towards membership of the European Union, while also constituting one of the Union's fundamental values. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this issue concerns not only the formal adoption of legislation and the alignment of domestic law with the EU acquis, but also the actual capacity of institutions to ensure an independent judiciary, an effective fight against organised crime and corruption, legal certainty, and the protection of fundamental rights.
This paper is based on the proposition that the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina's European integration process is both a legal criterion and a political challenge.
As a legal criterion, it derives from the values of the European Union, the Copenhagen criteria, and the 14 key priorities of the European Commission. As a political challenge, it is reflected in the country's complex constitutional structure, divided competences, corruption, institutional blockades, and the insufficient implementation of reforms.
The aim of the paper is to highlight the difference between Bosnia and Herzegovina's formal progress in the EU accession process and the effective implementation of the rule of law in practice.
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