: Guide to Legal Research in
the Federal Republic of Serbia and Montenegro
By Jelena Glisic
Published
May 2005
Jelena Glisic
is a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy from Nish,
Yugoslavia (1997). She holds also a B.A. in Serbian language and literature,
and has worked as a language editor for the Prosveta
Publishing House. Presently she works for the Nish University Library , Nikola Tesla, as a
librarian in the Information-and-Loan Department. In October 2001, she attended
Advanced Training for Law Librarians in Riga (Latvia), organized by the
Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (The Open Society Institute from
Budapest).
Update to an article previously published
on LLRX.com,
http://www.llrx.com/features/yugoslavia.htm
Table of Contents
Background of Serbia and Montenegro’s Legal System
Federal Institutions Not
Within the Federal Ministries
A Special Appendix on Yugoslav
Human Rights
The Charter of Human Rights, Minority Rights and Civil
Rights
Legal Education in Serbia and Montenegro
Law Faculties and the Law
Libraries in Serbia and Montenegro
Introduction to Serbia and Montenegro Legal Publishing
Official and Well-Known
Publishers of Legal Literature
Contact Info for Legal
Publishers
Selected Legal Literature (Except Periodicals)
List of Selected Legal Periodicals and Contact Info for
Well-Known Periodical Publishers
The
new state union of Serbia and Montenegro was proclaimed on 4 February 2003, and
consists of two federal units: the state of Serbia, which includes the
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (which is currently under an international
administration in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution
1244), and the state of Montenegro. The former federal state, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, proclaimed by the Constitution on
This
kind of union of two states is unusual in comparative systems, which can cause
many problems in the activity of a new state. Nevertheless, the government is
trying to solve all the problems on a mutual basis of cooperation.
Since
the establishment of the Constitution of the former federation (from 1992),
there have been a lot of changes in the area of the legislation
(constitutional, political, economic), as well as in the area of the real
relations between the political forces in the government’s institutions.
The
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the constitution of the new
state is still under construction) is inspired by well known European
constitutions, such as the constitutions of France and Germany, and it contains
both elements of the federation and confederation structure (at the moment, the
parliament is working on the draft of a new constitution). The Republic of
Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro are sovereign, and decide on matters that
are not under the jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The
new state union's highest legal act is the Constitutional Charter while the
constitution is under construction.
Both
states have their own constitutions according to which they independently
establish their own organization of authority. However, there are a few
principles in the Federal Constitution on which the organization of the
authority is based both in the federal state and in its federal units: the
division of authority, representative government, democracy, and local
communities.
In
general, the authority system in a new state, and in its federal units, is the
Parliament.
The
authority system in Serbia and Montenegro is divided into:
Under
the Constitutional Charter, the Assembly of
During
the first two years after the adoption of the Constitutional Charter, the MPs were
elected indirectly, in proportion to their representation in the National
Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Assembly of the Republic of
Montenegro. After that initial period, the MPs will be elected at direct
elections. Their term of office will be four years. The Assembly of Serbia and
Montenegro elects from among its MPs the President and the Vice-President of
the Assembly and they may not come from the same member state.
The
Assembly was constituted on
According
to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federal
Parliament, which represents the legislative authority, consists of the Council
of Citizens and the Council of Republics. It is elected by citizens, by a
system of proportional elections. This model of elections was chosen because of
the political pluralism (after 1989), which made it possible for all political
organizations to participate equally in the work of the Parliament. Both
federal units are equally represented. A decision can be made if both councils
elect the same decision during their sessions. The Assembly of
The
President of Serbia and Montenegro is elected by the
The
Serbia and Montenegro legal system has its origins in European continental law,
so it applies the traditional sources of civil law system, including:
You
can also see the other parts of the article (publishers, periodicals) and visit
these Web sites:
http://www.intermex.co.yu - On this web site you can get
information about "Intermex", which is a
privately owned software and publishing company, established in 1989. This
publisher has its headquarters in Belgrade (Serbia), Podgorica
(Montenegro), Banjaluka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Nicosia (Cyprus). It specializes in providing software,
databases and publications that cover legal regulations (you can find, among
other valuable information for lawyers, over 20,000 court decisions and
opinions of almost all courts in Serbia and Montenegro), customs tariff, taxes
and contract management. An English version is available. You can
find more about this publishing company in the latter part of the article
(legal publishers).
http://www.propisi.com - This web site is dedicated to
regulations in Serbia and Montenegro. It includes the most recent, the new and
the selected state union (Serbia and Montenegro), state (Serbia, Montenegro)
and city regulations (Belgrade, the capital of Serbia).
http://www.propisi.co.yu/ - On this site you can find the
unique system for staying current with regulations and for applications of
those regulations. This web site includes everything about regulations in The
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska,
Macedonia, Republic of Hungary and European Union. It includes regulations for
the capital of Serbia and Montenegro - Belgrade. On this site you can find the
full text of regulations, the patterns of regulations and business software,
but you must be a subscriber to the site (the Serbian
version is the only available version). You can also find the regulations from
"Sluzbeni list SR Jugoslavije"
and "Sluzbeni glasnik Republike Srbije" (those are the
official legal gazettes in Yugoslavia, and the publishers, as well).
http://www.ingpro.co.yu - You can find here all updated state
union (Serbia and Montenegro) and state (Serbia, Montenegro) regulations,
including collections of regulations, registry of regulations, court practices
and legal advice and opinions. Unfortunately, the Serbian version is currently
the only available version.
According
to Serbia and Montenegro sources of law, the Anglo-Saxon system of Case Law is
not competitive, although the universities from this scientific discipline
explore the theory and the practice of the Case Law (in the frame of the legal,
political and economic sciences).
The
symbols of the executive authority are the President of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Federal Government. The Federal Parliament elects the
Federal Government. According to the Constitution, the government is liable as
a representative of the Federal Parliament. The Federal Government
establishes and carries out a foreign policy, and maintains the relations of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with other countries and international
organizations, commonly acts of Federal Parliament. The Federal Government is
made up of a prime minister, deputy prime minister, and federal ministers. It
is formed for a four-year term.
The
executive power is vested with the President of SCG and the Council of
Ministers that he chairs and runs.
The
President of Serbia and Montenegro is elected by the
The
President and two candidates for Minister come from one state and the remaining
three candidates for Ministers from the other member state. The President of
The
President shall:
The
Council of Ministers was formed on
The
seat of the Assembly and the Council of Ministers is in Belgrade.
The
Council of Ministers shall:
This
body consists of:
The
President chairs and manages the Council’s proceedings and recommends
candidates for ministers to the Assembly. After two years in office, ministers
exchange office with their deputies. Ministers have four-year term of office.
Deputy
Ministers:
·
Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs
·
Federal Ministry for Defence
·
Federal Ministry for Internal Affairs
·
Federal Ministry for Justice
·
Federal Ministry for Finance
·
Federal Ministry for Economy and Domestic Trade
·
Federal Ministry for Transportation and Telecommunications
Affairs
·
Federal Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations
·
Federal Ministry of National and Ethnical Communities
·
Federal Customs Administration
·
Federal Statistical Office
·
Federal Hydro-meteorological Institute
·
Archives of Yugoslavia
The
official Web sites of Serbia and Montenegro are:
The
Court System is based on the principle of division of the authority and
independence of the legal authority. Independence of judiciary comes from the
principles of legality and constitutionality. The court system of Serbia and
Montenegro is unique.
Judicial
bodies in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro are:
The
judicial power is vested with the Court of Serbia and Montenegro (State Union
Court). Its decisions are final and binding. The Court is authorised to
invalidate laws and other regulations of the institutions of Serbia and
Montenegro that are contrary to the Constitutional Charter and the laws of
Serbia and Montenegro. The judges from both member states have equal
representation on the Court. The judges are appointed by the Assembly of
The
seat of the Court is in Podgorica.
In
addition to the joint Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the President and
the Court, every member state has its own Parliament, President and Government.
There
are two types of courts:
According
to Court Law of the Republic of Serbia (from 1991), there are the following
courts of general jurisdiction in Serbia:
According
to Court Law of the Republic of Montenegro (from 1995), there are the following
courts of general jurisdiction in Montenegro:
There
is also the Federal Court, which performs its legal authority according to the
Constitution. This court decides on the last level, on the appeals against
verdict of the supreme courts and the Republic Military Court, in cases where
sentences of imprisonment for fifteen years, or the harder sentences, were
pronounced by the Criminal Law Act. The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction
too.
The
Federal State Prosecutor's Office is an independent governmental agency and
pursues perpetrators of crimes and other acts punishable by law. It protects
constitutionality and legality. The functions of Prosecutor's Office are
performed by the Republic Public Prosecutor, District Public Attorney and
Township Public Attorney.
Taking
into consideration the new Constitutional Charter, the constitutions of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its republics, as well as in the court laws,
we can conclude that the court organization is based on the following
principles:
The
following citation (from the textbook "The Criminal Procedure” – by
professors Cedomir Stojanovic
and Vojislav Djurdjic) explains the last principle:
"According to constitutional
and legal regulations, we can conclude that the courts are autonomous and
independent organs of the state, which are in court power and decide on the
criminal, civil and administrative matters. The function of a judge is elective
and permanent…the confirmation of the autonomy and independence of the courts is
also the legal regulation. According to that, the judge can not be the minister
and the member of committee, he can not perform the political and legal
functions, or any other function, job, or duty, which could affect his autonomy
and independence, or which could jeopardize his reputation or reputation of the
court (the article 6. of the Law of the Republic of Serbia)."
From
“Sluzbeni list Srbije i Crne Gore"(
04. 02. 2003)
The Charter of Human Rights,
Minority Rights and Civil Rights- Article 8
The
Charter of Human Rights, Minority Rights and Civil Rights is part of the
Constitutional Charter.
The Realization of Human Rights,
Minority Rights and Civil Rights - Article 9
The
new state union members (Serbia and Montenegro) create, provide and protect
human rights, minority rights and civil rights, on their state territory.
The
level of development of individual and collective human rights, minority rights
and civil rights, can not be reduced.
The
new state union of Serbia and Montenegro follows the implementation of human
rights, minority rights and civil rights, and provides their protection, in
case it is not provided for by the state union members.
The Direct Application of
International Treaties- Article 10
Regulations
of international treaties, regarding human rights, minority rights and civil
rights, which are in force in the territories of Serbia and Montenegro, apply
directly.
Legal
education in Serbia and Montenegro is based on a high-quality curriculum, organized
to develop legal ways of thinking and legal culture. Through the legal
profession, lawyers have direct and indirect influence on creating the law.
To
become a lawyer, a student must graduate from the faculty of law. Studies last
for four years (eight semesters). To become a student of the faculty of law, a
candidate must pass the admission test. Students are divided into full-time
students and part-time students. There are students from foreign countries in
Yugoslavia, too. The practical training for students is organized in courts.
To
become an advocate, or a judge, a lawyer must pass a qualifying examination for
judges/advocates. Today, it is necessary for judges to have additional
education, according to the regulations of European Union and Council of
Europe.
In
total, there are six faculties of law in Serbia and Montenegro.
In
the Federal Republic of Serbia, there are five faculties of law:
In
the Federal Republic of Montenegro, there is a Faculty of Law in Podgorica.
Each
of the faculties and courts has its own library. They cooperate and exchange
legal information and material.
There
are two examples of law libraries in the law faculties in this article.
The
Faculty of Law in Belgrade has the biggest law library in the country, with about
130,000 monographs, a large number of prints, archives, domestic and foreign
periodicals. It is an important center of law
investigations. Contact info for the Faculty of Law in Belgrade:
Address: 67, Bulevar Revolucije, St., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Web site: http://www.ius.bg.ac.yu
Telephone: (+381 11) 324-15-01
Fax: (+381 11) 322-12-99
E-mail: pravni@ius.bg.ac.yu
The
Faculty of Law in Nish will be included in the TEMPUS
program, which makes the integration into inter-faculty and inter-university
cooperation in Europe possible.
The
faculty has its own library of over 25,000 volumes and 402 titles of
periodicals, classified in the systematic, subject, authorial and topographic
catalogues, which may also be searched through the computer network. There is a
rich lexical material in the Library, as well as the complete collection of
official registers issued in Serbia and Montenegro after World War II.
Further
information of the Faculty and its library is available through its web site.
Contact info:
Address: 11, Trg Kralja Aleksandra, St., 18000 Nish,
Serbia
Web site: http://www.prafak.ni.ac.yu/
Telephone: (+381 18) 523-099 and 523-545
Fax: (018) 523-545, lok: 189
E-mail (for cooperation with the Faculty of Law in Nish):
saradnja@prafak.ni.ac.yu
If
you want to learn more about legal education in Serbia and Montenegro, you can
visit the web site of the University of Belgrade at http://www.rcub.bg.ac.yu.
On
this academic network you can find out everything about the University of
Belgrade (about its institutions). You can also find information about the
universities of Serbia, faculties, institutes, libraries, centers.
Contact info for the computer center of the
University of Belgrade:
Address: 84, Bulevar Revolucije, St., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Telephone: (+381 11) 321-84-01 and 434-596
Fax: (+381 11) 303-12-57
Post-office box: 866
Serbia
and Montenegro is passing through a difficult period, but it is, after the
October 2000 elections, in the process of democratic transition of its
political, economic and social systems. The main objective of Serbia and
Montenegro’s transition is, first of all, to approach the standards of the
European continental law and to accept the norms of the European Union, which
Serbia and Montenegro intends to join.
Serbia
and Montenegro has a long tradition in publishing and printing. Taking into
consideration that Serbia and Montenegro is passing through a democratic
transition, we can conclude that publishing in our country is pretty alive now.
There are many successful private publishers today. We can say all that for
legal publishing in general.
Serbia
and Montenegro has a small market for legal materials, but, nevertheless,
competition has always been quite strong in this country. There are many
important large and small publishers (some of the large publishers are official
publishers of legal literature, too). All faculties of law are publishers of
legal literature.
Readers
of this article may find necessary information about the most important legal
publishers in Serbia and Montenegro below.
The
most important publishers of legal literature in the country are:
"Sluzbeni list Srbije i Crne Gore" is the
well-known name of the official publisher and official legal gazette. This
publishing house was founded in 1945 by the government of former Yugoslavia. It
publishes laws, decisions, and indexes, but only in Serbian. The web site of
this publishing house is not yet available.
Address: 1, Jovana Ristica, St., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Telephone: (+ 381 11) 306-05-00
Some
of the regulations from "Sluzbeni list Srbije i Crne
Gore" can be found on the web site for state laws and regulations at http://www.propisi.co.yu/.
"Sluzbeni glasnik Republike Srbije" is the
well-known name of the official publisher and official legal gazette. The
Government of the Republic of Serbia and Parliament of the Republic of Serbia
founded it in 1945. All information (laws and other regulations, common acts of
republic bodies, and specific individual acts of republic bodies) is available
only in Serbian.
The
gazette is published once a week (30,000 copies), but it is also published at
the request of the Government or Parliament.
On
the old web site (a new one is under construction) you can see references, CDs
and the online catalogue, which is not up-to-date. The catalogue contains
official gazettes ("Sluzbeni glasnik
Republike Srbije", "Prosvetni glasnik" - republic curriculums and programs, "Opstinski
sluzbeni glasnik" - the
official gazette of forty communities in Republic of Serbia, with normative and
other common acts, in 800 copies), periodicals, federal and republic
regulations, books and other publications, and patterns of regulations.
Address: 27, Kralja Milutina, St., and 34 Nemanjina,
St., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Web site: http://www.glasnik.com
Some of the regulations from "Sluzbeni glasnik Republike Srbije", you can
find on the web site for laws and regulations at http://www. propisi.co.yu/.
Telephone: (+ 381 11) 688-406; (+ 381 11) 334-65-81
E-mail: office@glasnik.com; glasnik@infosky.net