ABSTRACT
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federal country consisting of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. The first COVID-19 infected patient in the country was registered in Banja Luka, an administrative center of the Republika Srpska, on 5 March 2020. Four days later, the first patient was registered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not define the country as a federal state per se, its institutional architectural features and characteristics are common to all federal countries. The decentralization of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is based on the so-called Washington Agreement between Bosniaks and Croats signed in 1994. The COVID-19 crisis has been managed mostly by the entities, cantons, and the Brcko District, with a somewhat limited role of the central government institutions. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Department of Civilian Protection has managed the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
