First Final Court Ruling in BiH for Discrimination Against LGBTI Persons Adopted

The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has issued a final ruling establishing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.

The ruling concerns a public statement made by the then-member of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, Samra Ćosović Hajdarević, who, following the announcement of the first BiH Pride March in 2019, published a Facebook post that, among other things, contained calls for segregation, isolation, and discrimination against LGBTIQ persons:

“Everyone has the right to live the life they choose; likewise, we have the right to choose who we want to live with. I want such people to be isolated and removed as far away as possible from our children and society. Let them go somewhere else and create their own city, state, laws, and rights that no one will dispute. But NOT here!”

Sarajevo Open Centre, as an organization working to advance the human rights of LGBTI persons and women, filed a lawsuit against the Assembly member, claiming that through her public statement she discriminated against LGBTI persons and incited hatred. In this case, a first-instance judgment was issued in 2022 by the Municipal Court in Sarajevo. The defendant then exercised her right to appeal, but the appeal was dismissed as unfounded.

“The Cantonal Court fully upheld the position of the first-instance court and clearly emphasized that the statement made by the defendant on 01 April 2019 constitutes hate speech. In this regard, the Court notes that although the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination does not explicitly use the term ‘hate speech,’ it defines it through two forms of prohibited conduct: harassment and incitement to discrimination. This ruling represents an important step forward in the protection of human rights and sends a strong message that hate speech will not be tolerated. I believe it will also encourage other associations and organizations to use the mechanism of collective lawsuits when the right to equal treatment of a larger number of persons—especially members of vulnerable and minority groups—has been violated,” said attorney Dženana Hadžiomerović.

This ruling represents a turning point for the protection of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the first time, a court has confirmed that sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics are real and applicable grounds for protection against discrimination. Although these grounds were introduced into the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination back in 2009, it took almost 17 years for the first final court ruling to be issued.

We believe this case is proof that legal protection exists and that institutions can and must respond.

“Freedom of expression is a protected right, but it does not include the right to call for discrimination and segregation. Public speech, especially that of politicians and public figures, carries responsibility and must not serve to dehumanize or exclude any social group. This ruling confirms the importance of the existence of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and represents a small but important step on the long road toward the full implementation of the standards prescribed by that law,” said our Darko Pandurević.