SERBIA: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Serbia's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law
The Serbian Constitution (Article 16) provides that ratified treaties are an integral part of the legal system. In Serbia's initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, however, the Convention appears to be referenced mainly as a statement of rights to be realised in national legislation, rather than treated as a directly enforceable legal instrument. The lack of clarity may in part be due to the relatively recent entry into force of the Constitution (October 2006), as it remains to be seen exactly what role the Convention will come to play in domestic law.

Constitution
The Serbian Constitution of 2006 contains a number of specific references to children, including Article 64, which is specifically entitled “rights of the child”:

  • Art. 38- any child born in the Republic of Serbia shall have Serbian citizenship, unless that child qualifies to be a citizen of another country

  • Art. 43- parents have the right to insist upon a religious or moral education for their children in conformity with their own convictions

  • Art. 64- includes rights suitable to the age and mental maturity of a child, protection from psychological, physical, economic and other abuse, equality regardless of parents' marital status, and regulation of the protection of children's rights by law

  • Art. 65- parents have the duty to support and provide an upbringing and education for their children; individual rights of the parents may only be revoked by a ruling of the courts, in accordance with the law and in the best interests of the child

  • Art. 66- special protection shall be provided for children without parental care and mentally or physically handicapped children; children under 15 may not be employed, nor may children under 18 be employed in jobs detrimental to their health or morals

  • Art. 68- healthcare for children shall be provided from public revenues unless provided in some other manner in accordance with the law

Legislation
Serbia has no comprehensive Children's Act, and children's rights are addressed both in broadly applicable codes and more targeted legislation. Specifically, for example, the Penal Code covers offences committed by and against children, while other domestic legislation includes a number of Acts pertaining to the subject matter of the CRC. The legal situation is complicated by the relatively recent formation of the present Serbian state, meaning that many laws have origins in the previous entities of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:

  • Law on Juvenile Delinquents and Penal Law Protection of Juveniles (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 85/05)

  • Law on Family Relations (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 18/05)

  • Law on Marriage and Family Relations (“Official Gazette of the RS”, Nos. 22/80, 24/84, 11/88, 22/93, 34/94, 46/95 and 29/01)

  • Law on Social Care of Children (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos. 49/92, 29/93, 53/93, 67/93, 28/94, 47/94, 48/94, 25/96 and 29/01)

  • The Law on Principles of the Education System (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos. 62/03, 64/03, 58/04, 62/04 and 101/05)

  • Law on Protection of Disabled Persons Against Discrimination

  • Law on Ombudsman (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 79/05”)

Legal Research:
The Serbian Government (Влада Републике Србије / Vlade Republike Srbije) and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (Народна скупштина Србије / Narodna skupština Srbije) and both maintain websites with up-to-date legal information (http://www.parlament.gov.rs/content/eng/index.asp; http://www.srbija.gov.rs/?change_lang=en). The former provides an English translation of the Serbian Constitution (http://www.srbija.gov.rs/cinjenice_o_srbiji/ustav.php), and the Pregled Survey publishes many Serbian laws online in English free of charge (http://www.pregledrs.com/products2.php?id=1⟨=en). The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) mission to Serbia provides English translations of the Criminal Code (http://www.osce.org/documents/fry/2006/02/18196_en.pdf), the Criminal Procedure Code (http://www.osce.org/documents/srb/2007/04/24175_en.pdf) and other useful legal documents. A helpful research guide to the Serbian legal system is available on GlobaLex (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Serbia.htm); and the U.S. Library of Congress provides a selection of government and other relevant legal research links (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/serbia.php).

Case Law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research
The website of the Constitutional Court of Serbia publishes its case law online (http://www.ustavni.sud.rs/page/home/sr-Latn-CS), but the English language section of the website is currently under construction.

Compliance with the CRC
The Committee on the Rights of the Child was complementary in a number of respects with regards to Serbia's implementation of the CRC, in particular welcoming the new laws on family relations, the protection of disabled persons, and juvenile justice. The Committee did express concern, however, that “legislation has not yet been fully harmonised with the Convention”, making the recommendation that Serbia consider adopting a comprehensive Children's Act.

In depth analysis:
While the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its 2008 Concluding Observations welcomed the substantial and large scale revision of Serbian laws affecting the rights of children in recent years, there remain a number of issues about which the Committee has expressed concern. While juvenile justice was addressed in the adoption of the Law on Juvenile Perpetrators of Criminal Acts and the Criminal Legal Protection of Minors make a number of provisions relating to young offenders, the Committee noted that the legislation focusses on proceedings, guidance measures on sentencing and the defence of minors rather than the creation of a specialised juvenile justice system. The Committee has recommended that reforms continue to develop a system of specialised prosecutors, judges and social workers to deal with children in conflict with the law.

Violence against children emerges from the Committee's observations as a particular area of concern. While changes to the Criminal Code and the Law on Family Relations have sought to address domestic violence, the Committee has noted that “a general climate of violence, including domestic violence, still prevails in Serbian society”. Corporal punishment remains lawful in the home and widely practised in educational institutions. The Committee's recommendations have tended to focus on the enforcement of those laws that already exist and the development of a reporting mechanism to properly combat violence affecting children.

In its 2008 Concluding Observations, the Committee also raised questions about the activities of care staff in regards to children with disabilities in social care institutions, noting that some practices “could amount to ill-treatment or even torture”. The relevant recommendations suggested that legislative measures should be adopted to ensure the rehabilitation and compensation of children who are victims of such mistreatment.

Current legal reform projects
Serbia's report to the Committee in 2007 gave an extensive account of educational reforms then in progress.

National laws on children's rights

 

Status of the CRC in national law

The Serbian Constitution (Article 16) provides that ratified treaties are an integral part of the legal system. In Serbia's initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, however, the Convention appears to be referenced mainly as a statement of rights to be realised in national legislation, rather than treated as a directly enforceable legal instrument. The lack of clarity may in part be due to the relatively recent entry into force of the Constitution (October 2006), as it remains to be seen exactly what role the Convention will come to play in domestic law.

 

Constitution: The Serbian Constitution of 2006 contains a number of specific references to children, including Article 64, which is specifically entitled “rights of the child”:

  • Art. 38- any child born in the Republic of Serbia shall have Serbian citizenship, unless that child qualifies to be a citizen of another country

  • Art. 43- parents have the right to insist upon a religious or moral education for their children in conformity with their own convictions

  • Art. 64- includes rights suitable to the age and mental maturity of a child, protection from psychological, physical, economic and other abuse, equality regardless of parents' marital status, and regulation of the protection of children's rights by law

  • Art. 65- parents have the duty to support and provide an upbringing and education for their children; individual rights of the parents may only be revoked by a ruling of the courts, in accordance with the law and in the best interests of the child

  • Art. 66- special protection shall be provided for children without parental care and mentally or physically handicapped children; children under 15 may not be employed, nor may children under 18 be employed in jobs detrimental to their health or morals

  • Art. 68- healthcare for children shall be provided from public revenues unless provided in some other manner in accordance with the law

 

Legislation: Serbia has no comprehensive Children's Act, and children's rights are addressed both in broadly applicable codes and more targeted legislation. Specifically, for example, the Penal Code covers offences committed by and against children, while other domestic legislation includes a number of Acts pertaining to the subject matter of the CRC. The legal situation is complicated by the relatively recent formation of the present Serbian state, meaning that many laws have origins in the previous entities of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:

  • Law on Juvenile Delinquents and Penal Law Protection of Juveniles (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 85/05)

  • Law on Family Relations (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 18/05)

  • Law on Marriage and Family Relations (“Official Gazette of the RS”, Nos. 22/80, 24/84, 11/88, 22/93, 34/94, 46/95 and 29/01)

  • Law on Social Care of Children (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos. 49/92, 29/93, 53/93, 67/93, 28/94, 47/94, 48/94, 25/96 and 29/01)

  • The Law on Principles of the Education System (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos. 62/03, 64/03, 58/04, 62/04 and 101/05)

  • Law on Protection of Disabled Persons Against Discrimination

  • Law on Ombudsman (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 79/05”)

 

Legal research:

The Serbian Government (Влада Републике Србије / Vlade Republike Srbije) and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (Народна скупштина Србије / Narodna skupština Srbije) and both maintain websites with up-to-date legal information (http://www.parlament.gov.rs/content/eng/index.asp; http://www.srbija.gov.rs/?change_lang=en). The former provides an English translation of the Serbian Constitution (http://www.srbija.gov.rs/cinjenice_o_srbiji/ustav.php), and the Pregled Survey publishes many Serbian laws online in English free of charge (http://www.pregledrs.com/products2.php?id=1⟨=en). The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) mission to Serbia provides English translations of the Criminal Code (http://www.osce.org/documents/fry/2006/02/18196_en.pdf), the Criminal Procedure Code (http://www.osce.org/documents/srb/2007/04/24175_en.pdf) and other useful legal documents. A helpful research guide to the Serbian legal system is available on GlobaLex (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Serbia.htm); and the U.S. Library of Congress provides a selection of government and other relevant legal research links (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/serbia.php).

 

Case law

The website of the Constitutional Court of Serbia publishes its case law online (http://www.ustavni.sud.rs/page/home/sr-Latn-CS), but the English language section of the website is currently under construction.

 

Compliance with the CRC

The Committee on the Rights of the Child was complementary in a number of respects with regards to Serbia's implementation of the CRC, in particular welcoming the new laws on family relations, the protection of disabled persons, and juvenile justice. The Committee did express concern, however, that “legislation has not yet been fully harmonised with the Convention”, making the recommendation that Serbia consider adopting a comprehensive Children's Act.

 

Current legal reform projects

Serbia's report to the Committee in 2007 gave an extensive account of educational reforms then in progress.

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.