Bosnia and Herzegovina’s approach to cultural policy and heritage preservation is characterised by its multi-layered governance structure, which requires coordination and cooperation across different levels of government and between various entities. At the national level, the cultural policy framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina is determined by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in coordination with the entity governments – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the Government of Brčko District. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a key state-level body responsible for the protection of the country’s vast cultural heritage set up by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Peace Agreement) and the Decision of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

Implementation of the decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments rests on the entities. Each of these entities has its own ministries responsible for culture and heritage, reflecting the country’s decentralised governance structure – Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina involves its Ministry of Physical Planning and Ministry of Culture and Sport, while Republika Srpska has the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Ecology and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Under the Government of Brčko District are its Department for Economic Development, Sports and Culture and its Department for Spatial Planning and Property and Legal Affairs. Entity-level ministries and departments collaborate with local governments and non-governmental organisations to promote cultural heritage, manage cultural institutions, and implement heritage protection measures.

The country needs in the future to ensure a permanent solution to the legal status and financing for the cultural institutions of significance for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the cantonal level, five of the eleven cantons have their own cantonal institutes: Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihac, Bugojno and Mostar.