The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina ensures a reliable, cost-effective, transparent and professional public administration that represents the interests of citizens and strives to apply EU best practice. In addition to legislative activities, the Ministry is also responsible, among other things, for the registration of citizens' associations and for maintaining the registers of citizens' associations and non-governmental organisations operating in the territory of BiH.

• Registration of associations and foundations

• Registration of churches and religious communities

• Registration of legal entities established by institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Approval for the use of the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the name of a legal entity

• Approval for the production of seals of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Submission and recognition of professional administrative exams

• Providing opinions on acts

Registration of associations and foundations

The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for registering associations, foundations, offices or representative offices of foreign and international associations and foundations in the Register, as well as for amendments to the Register.

Registration in the register of associations, foundations, and foreign and international associations and foundations is carried out in accordance with the Law on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ('Official Gazette of BiH', no. 32/01), the Law on Amendments to the Law on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH" no. 42/03), the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (" Official Gazette of BiH, no. 63/08) and the Law on Amendments and Supplementations to the Law on Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 76/11), and in accordance with Regulations on the Method of Keeping the Register of Associations and Foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Foreign and International Associations and Foundations and Other Non-profit Organisations (''Official Gazette of BiH'', no: 68/18).

Registration of churches and religious communities

The registration of churches and religious communities is carried out in accordance with the Law on Freedom of Religion and the Legal Status of Churches and Religious Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
('Official Gazette of BiH', no. 5/04) and the Regulation on the Establishment and Maintenance of the Unified Register for the Entry of Churches and Religious Communities, their Unions and Organisational Forms in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 46/04).

Churches and religious communities are communities, institutions and organisations of believers, established in accordance with their own regulations, teachings, beliefs, traditions and practices, which have legal capacity and are entered in the Register of Churches and Religious Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The register of existing and new churches and religious communities, their associations and internal organisational forms, is maintained by the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Registration of legal entities established by institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Legal entities that establish institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina are registered with the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Law on the Registration of Legal Entities that Establish Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ('Official Gazette of BiH', no. 33/02 and 37/03).

Approval for the use of the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the name of a legal entity

The Law on the Use and Protection of the Name of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 30/03, 42/04, 50/08 and 76/11) regulates the conditions and manner of use and protection of the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The authorisation to use the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina is granted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the proposal of the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with Article 6 of this Law. An application to use the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina may be submitted by institutions, citizens' associations and other legal entities that wish to include the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their registered name.

The application for the issuance of approval to use the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with Article 5 of the aforementioned Law, must include:

a)       name of the applicant;

b)      the title proposed;

c) the founding act and the statutes;

d) the applicant's annual activity plan and annual financial plan and

e)       explanation of the reason for submitting the request.

The justification referred to in paragraph 1(e) of this article shall contain a description of the activities to be carried out and the manner in which the applicant's activities and operations will be conducted throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a detailed statement of the reasons justifying the request for approval to use the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the applicant's name.

In accordance with Article 6(2) of the Law on the Use and Protection of the Name of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the procedure for issuing authorisation for the use of the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the Law on Administrative Procedure.

Administrative fee

Approval for the creation of a seal

The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina approves the making of seals for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Law on the Seal of Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 12/98 and 14/03) and the Instruction on the procedure and method of making, the method of keeping and the content of records of seals, the destruction and decommissioning of seals of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 6/12).

This Act regulates the form and appearance of the seal of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its use by those institutions. The seal of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirms the authenticity of official documents.

Submission and recognition of professional administrative examinations

The taking of professional examinations is regulated by the Decision on the Conditions and Procedure for Taking the Professional Administrative Examination for Trainees, Persons with Higher Education and Employees at the Level of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 104/10) and the Decision on Amendments and Supplements to the Decision on the Conditions and Method of Taking the Professional Administrative Examination for Trainees, Persons with Higher Education and Employees at the Level of BiH ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 105/12).

Recognition of previously passed professional administrative& Recognition of previously passed professional administrative exams, or exemption from the obligation to sit the professional administrative exam at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is carried out on the basis of a comparison between the syllabus under which the person passed the professional exam and the Programme of the professional administrative exam for trainees, civil servants and employees at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Providing opinions on acts

The Sector for State-Level Administration provides opinions on draft and proposed laws, decisions, instructions, conclusions, decisions and other regulatory acts concerning matters relating to sanctions, the organisation and functioning of the administrative bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their mutual relationships, as well as all regulations on the internal organisation of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administrative fees for giving opinions