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Tuzla Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Tuzlanski kanton

Flag of Tuzla Canton - Image by Željko Heimer, 2 October 2000

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Flag of Tuzla Canton

The symbols of Tuzla Canton are prescribed by Law Zakon o grbu i zastavi Tuzlanskog kantona, adopted by the Canton Assembly on 31 December 1999 and published on 10 February 2000 in the Canton official gazette Službeni novine Tuzlanskog kantona, No. 1 (text).
The use of the symbols is prescribed by Law Zakon o upotrebi grba i zastave Tuzlanskog kantona, adopted on 31 December 1999 and published on 10 February 2000 in Službeni novine Tuzlanskog kantona, No. 1.
The two Laws were promulgated by Ukaz o proglašenju Zakona o grbu i zastavi Tuzlanskog kantona, adopted on 19 January 2000 and published on 10 February 2000 in Službeni novine Tuzlanskog kantona, No. 1.

The flag is described in Article 4 of the Law on the symbols as follows:

The flag of Tuzla Canton is blue, in shade equal to the blue shade used in the coat of arms. In the geometric center of the flag is the coat of Aarms of Tuzla Canton with additional eight stars set on the same circular path as the stars in the coat of arms, thus four stars towards the top of the flag and four stars towards its bottom. The flag is in rectangular shape. The ratio of the length to the width of the flag is 1:2.

Željko Heimer, 17 December 2012

Coat of arms of Tuzla Canton

Coat of arms of Tuzla Canton - Image by Željko Heimer, 2 October 2000

The coat of arms is prescribed in Article 3 of the Law on the symbols as follows:

The coat of arms of Tuzla Canton is in shape of a shield with a yellow border. There are four eccentric circular fields located in the coat of arms from top left [non heraldic description] towards bottom being blue, green, black and white. In the blue field are three yellow stars following the circular line formed by the edge of the blue and green fields.

The white field of the coat of arms represents salt, Tuzla (from Turkish, tuz, "salt") being known as Salt Town. Coal is another mining product of importance in the region, representing by the black field. The green field is then the top layer of the ground with vegetation and the blue field is the sky.
The yellow stars on blue are a reference to the national flag. The number of the stars probably has no particular meaning, as it is the case with the stars on the national flag; this is further supported by the fact that there are more stars on the flag than on the coat of arms. However, the three stars on the coat of arms might refer to the three main ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Željko Heimer, 7 May 2000

Adoption process of the symbols of Tuzla Canton

The symbols of Tuzla-Pdrinje Canton were abolished by Decision Presuda Ustavnog suda Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, adopted on 7 July 1998 by the Contitutional Court of the Federation and published on 16 September 1998 in Službene novine Tuzlansko-podrinjskog kantona, No 8 (text).
The Decision abolished Article 4 of the Constitution (that is, the name Tuzla-Podrinje Canton), as well as Articles 3 and 4 of the Law on the symbols (that is, the description of the coat of arms and of the flag).

Decision Odluka o raspisivanju javnog konkursa za prijedlog idejnog rješenja grba i zastave Tuzlanskog kantona, adopted on 4 March 1999 and published on 31 March 1999 in Službene novine Tuzlanskog kantona, No. 4 (text) prescribed a new contest for the design of the symbols, almost identical in wording to the 1995 contest, with prizes of 3000, 2000 and 1000 KM, plus three additional prizes of 500 KM and 150 KM for all other qualifying contestants.

Željko Heimer, 17 December 2012

Legal basis of municipal symbols in Tuzla Canton

The Law on local self-government was amended by Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o lokalnoj samoupravi, adopted on 24 May 2002 and published on 19 June 2002 in Službene novine Tuzlansko-podrinjskog kantona, No. 7 (text):

The Ministry of Justice and Administration shall approve the design of the coat of arms and flag of a municipality or a town.
The Ministry shall withhold the approval only if the contents of the coat of arms do not match the historical or actual state or if it is insufficiently different from the coat of arms of an other municipality or if its contents and the symbolic of the flag colours and not acceptable for reasons of public concerns.

Željko Heimer, 17 December 2012