The current Constitution of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, / ), also known as Mitrovdan Constitution ( sr, / ) was adopted in 2006, replacing the previous

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

dating from 1990. The adoption of new constitution became necessary in 2006 when Serbia became independent after

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

's secession and the dissolution of

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

. The proposed text of the constitution was adopted by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

on 30 September 2006 and put on

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

which was held on 28–29 October 2006. After 53.04% of the electorate supported the proposed constitution, it was officially adopted on 8 November 2006. The Constitution contains a preamble, 206 articles, 11 parts, and

thirty 30 (thirty) is the natural number following 29 and preceding 31. In mathematics 30 is an even, composite, pronic number. With 2, 3, and 5 as its prime factors, it is a regular number and the first sphenic number, the smallest of the form ...

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

Main provisions

Among the constitution's two hundred other articles are guarantees of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and

minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements ofte ...

, abolishment of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, and banning of

human cloning Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone) of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural concepti ...

. It assigns the

Serbian Cyrillic alphabet The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write ...

as the official script, while making provisions for the use of minority languages at local levels. Among the differences between the current and previous constitution are: *Only private, corporate and public property is acknowledged; ''social assets'' shall cease to exist. *Foreign citizens are permitted to own property. *Full independence is granted to the National Bank of Serbia. *As part of a process of

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

, the granting of municipal properties' ownership rights to local municipalities. *The province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

is granted limited financial autonomy. *The constitution mentions "European values and standards" for the first time. *Large and small

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

were established. * The constitution assigns the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kos ...

and the

as the official language and

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...

in use, respectively. *The adoption of the national anthem, '' Bože pravde'' (God of Justice). *Special protection for the rights of consumers, mothers, children and minorities. *Greater freedom of information. *Marriage is defined as the "union between a man and a woman"

Constitutional status of Kosovo

The current constitution defines the

Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, Косово и Метохиja, Kosovo i Metohija; sq, Kosova dhe Metohija), commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the constitu ...

as an integral part of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, but with "substantial autonomy". Under the opinion of the

Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...

in respect to ''substantial autonomy'' of Kosovo, an examination of The Constitution makes it clear that this fundamental autonomy is not at all guaranteed at the constitutional level, as the constitution delegates almost every important aspect of this autonomy to the legislature.

Structure

Preamble

The Constitution of Serbia contains a preamble: :"Considering the state tradition of the

Serbian people The term Serbians in English is a polysemic word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences: * Morphology 1: Serb-ian- s, derived from the noun ''Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus having ...

and equality of all citizens and ethnic communities in

, :Considering also that the

Province of Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, Косово и Метохиja, Kosovo i Metohija; sq, Kosova dhe Metohija), commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the constituti ...

is an integral part of the territory of Serbia, that it has the status of a substantial autonomy within the sovereign state of Serbia and that from such status of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija follow constitutional obligations of all state bodies to uphold and protect the state interests of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija in all internal and foreign political relations, :the citizens of Serbia adopt"

Chapters

The Constitution of Serbia is divided into 10 chapters: # Constitution Principles # Human and Minority Rights and Freedoms # Economic System and Public Finances # Competencies of the Republic of Serbia # Organisation of Government # The Constitutional Court # Territorial Organization # Constitutionality and Legality # Amending the Constitution # Final Provision

Constitutional history

Serbia has adopted 14 constitutions throughout its history. Listed below in order of year adopted: * Constitution of 1219,

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

, “

Zakonopravilo The Nomocanon of Saint Sava ( sr-Cyrl, Номоканон светог Саве), known in Serbian as () or (), was the highest code in the Serbian Orthodox Church, finished in 1219. This legal act was written in simple folk language and its ...

” (St. Sava's Nomocanon), the first Serbian constitution * Constitution of 1349,

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

, “Dušanov Zakonik” (Emperor

Dušan's Code Dušan's Code ( sr-cyr, Душанов законик, ''Dušanov zakonik'', known historically as ''Закон благовјернаго цара Стефана'' – Law of the pious Emperor Stefan) is a compilation of several legal systems th ...

.Judah 2000, p. 25. or Dušan’s Constitution) * Constitution of

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...

, Mining Code , enacted by Despot

Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...

in 1412, formulated earlier in 1390, additions to previous Emperor Dušan’s Constitution incorporating early 15th century Serbian Mining Laws * ''Period between 16th – 18th century (void).'' * Constitution of the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...

, adopted in 1835, so-called " Candlemas constitution" (''

Sretenje constitution The Constitution of the Principality of Serbia ( Slavonic-Serbian: ) known as the Sretenje Constitution ("Candlemas Constitution"), was the first constitution of the Principality of Serbia, adopted in Kragujevac in 1835. The Constitution was writte ...

''). * Constitution of 1838, often called "Turkish constitution", issued in the form of Turkish

firman A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...

. * Constitution of 1869, often called "Regents' constitution"; in place until 1888, then reinstated from 1894 to 1901. * Constitution of the

, adopted in 1888. * Constitution of 1901, called "April constitution" and "Octroic constitution", promulgated by

Alexander I of Serbia Alexander I ( sr-cyr, Александар Обреновић, Aleksandar Obrenović; 14 August 187611 June 1903) reigned as the king of Serbia from 1889 to 1903 when he and his wife, Draga Mašin, were assassinated by a group of Royal Serbia ...

. * Constitution of 1903, modified version of the Constitution of 1888. * ''Between 1918 and 1945 Serbia was part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

and

Democratic Federal Yugoslavia Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, also known as Democratic Federative Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia or DFY), was a provisional state established during World War II on 29 November 1943 through the Second Session of the Anti-Fascist Council for the Nation ...

, and had no constitution of its own.'' * Constitution of the

People's Republic of Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

, adopted in 1947 (Serbia as part of the

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

) * Constitution of the

Socialist Republic of Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

, adopted in 1963 (Serbia as part of the

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

) * Constitution of 1974 (Serbia as part of the

) * Constitution of the

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

, adopted in 1990 (Serbia as part of the SFR Yugoslavia in 1990–1992,

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

in 1992–2003 and

in 2003–2006) * Constitution of 2006, called "Mitrovdan constitution", current constitution, first constitution of the independent Republic of Serbia

Gallery

File:The Constitution of 1835.JPG, Front page of the "Candlemas constitution" of 1835. File:Ustav 1835. prva strana.jpg, First page of the "Candlemas constitution" of 1835. File:Constitution of Serbia 1838 first page.jpg, First page of the "Turkish' constitution" of 1838. File:Устав Србије из 1869. године.jpg, Front page of the "Regents' constitution" of 1869. File:Constitution of Serbia 1888.jpg, Front page of the Constitution of 1888. File:Устав Краљевине Србије из 1901. године.jpg, Front page of the Constitution of 1901.

References

External links

Constitution of the Republic of Serbia
in

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Constitution of the Republic of Serbia
in

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Previous Constitution of Serbia (1990)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution Of Serbia Law of Serbia Legal history of Serbia Politics of Serbia 2006 in Serbia 2006 in law November 2006 events in Europe 2006 in politics