Jemstvenik ( sr-Cyrl, јемственик) or jamstvenik (Croatian, Slovene), is a string made of red, blue and white strands that is used to tie together official documents, and for similar purposes, in countries of former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, in a similar way to red tape in some

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

countries. The colors of the string are those of the

flag of Serbia The flag of Serbia ( sr, Застава Србије, Zastava Srbije), also known as the Tricolour ( sr, тробојка, ''trobojka''), is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white o ...

(it was used in Serbia prior to the creation of Yugoslavia). It was later used in Yugoslavia,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(though their flags have different color order, the same string fits all).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and

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

still use the red-blue-white jemstvenik despite changing the flag colors. In

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

, the string is called ''emstvenik'' ( mk, емственик){{Cite web, url=http://www.makedonski.info/show/%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA, title=емственик (м.), website=Дигитален речник на македонскиот јазик, language=en, access-date=2018-03-09 and has the red-yellow colors of the

flag of North Macedonia The flag of North Macedonia is the national flag of the Republic of North Macedonia and depicts a stylized yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the center to the edge of the field. It was created by Miroslav Grčev ...

. The term comes from the word "jemstvo"/"jamstvo" which means

warranty In contract law, a warranty is a promise which is not a condition of the contract or an innominate term: (1) it is a term "not going to the root of the contract",Hogg M. (2011). ''Promises and Contract Law: Comparative Perspectives''p. 48 Cambri ...

References

Legacy of Yugoslavia Vexillology Law of Serbia Serbian legal terminology Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina Law of North Macedonia Law of Montenegro