Bosnia and Herzegovina - Evolution of Its Political and Legal Institutions

The work is, in essence, a translation of third edition of Historija drzave i prava Bosne i Hercegovine published 2003. The puropse and origins of the book are set out in the prefaces to the first and second Bosnian editions, which appear below. The political and legal evolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be traced in an unbroken line over a thousand years, from the early European and South Slav medieval period to the present day. The main features of this continuity may be seen in the durability and permanence of the territory and name of Bosnia and its administrative and political unity. The historical name of the country is Bosnia, which also came to encompass, in the medieval period, the area now known as Herzegovina. The term Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the official name of the country, was introduced in practice by the Austro-Hungarians after 1878. As a territory and a state, Bosnia never broke up nationally, but has constituted the same administrative and political entity since early medieval times.