Serbia | Constitutional provisions

Text of the Constitution (in English)

1. Provisions concerning the European Union

No specific provisions

2. Provisions concerning international treaties

Art. 16 The foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia shall be based on generally accepted principles and rules of international law.

Generally accepted rules of international law and ratified international treaties shall be an integral part of the legal system in the Republic of Serbia and applied directly. Ratified international treaties must be in accordance with the Constitution.

Art. 17 Pursuant to international treaties, foreign nationals in the Republic of Serbia shall have all rights guaranteed by the Constitution and law with the exception of rights to which only the citizens of the Republic of Serbia are entitled under the Constitution and law.

Art. 18 Human and minority rights guaranteed by the Constitution shall be implemented directly.

The Constitution shall guarantee, and as such, directly implement human and minority rights guaranteed by the generally accepted rules of international law, ratified international treaties and laws. The law may prescribe manner of exercising these rights only if explicitly stipulated in the Constitution or necessary to exercise a specific right owing to its nature, whereby the law may not under any circumstances influence the substance of the relevant guaranteed right.

Provisions on human and minority rights shall be interpreted to the benefit of promoting values of a democratic society, pursuant to valid international standards in human and minority rights, as well as the practice of international institutions which supervise their implementation.

Art. 22 Everyone shall have the right to judicial protection when any of their human or minority rights guaranteed by the Constitution have been violated or denied, they shall also have the right to elimination of consequences arising from the violation. The citizens shall have the right to address international institutions in order to protect their freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Art. 75 Persons belonging to national minorities shall be guaranteed special individual or collective rights in addition to the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution. Individual rights shall be exercised individually and collective rights in community with others, in accordance with the Constitution, law and international treaties.

Persons belonging to national minorities shall take part in decision-making or decide independently on certain issues related to their culture, education, information and official use of languages and script through their collective rights in accordance with the law.

Art. 139 The Army of Serbia shall defend the country from external armed threat and perform other missions and tasks, in accordance with the Constitution, Law and principles of international law, which regulate the use of force.

Art. 142 (...) Courts shall be separated and independent in their work and they shall perform their duties in accordance with the Constitution, Law and other general acts, when stipulated by the Law, generally accepted rules of international law and ratified international contracts.

Art. 145 Court decisions shall be passed in the name of people. Court decisions are based on the Constitution and Law, the ratified international treaty and regulation passed on the grounds of the Law.

Art. 167 The Constitutional Court shall decide on:

1. compliance of laws and other general acts with the Constitution, generally accepted rules of the international law and ratified international treaties,

2. compliance of ratified international treaties with the Constitution,Hierarchy of domestic and international general legal acts

Art. 194 The legal system of the Republic of Serbia shall be unique. The Constitution shall be the supreme legal act of the Republic of Serbia. All laws and other general acts enacted in the Republic of Serbia must be in compliance with the Constitution.

Ratified international treaties and generally accepted rules of the international law shall be part of the legal system of the Republic of Serbia. Ratified international treaties may not be in noncompliance with the Constitution. Laws and other general acts enacted in the Republic of Serbia may not be in noncompliance with the ratified international treaties and generally accepted rules of the International Law.

3. Provisions concerning constitutional reform

Art. 203 A proposal to amend the Constitution may be submitted by at least one third of the total number of deputies, the President of the Republic, the Government and at least 150,000 voters.

The National Assembly shall decide on amending the Constitution.

A proposal to amend the Constitution shall be adopted by a two-third majority of the total number of deputies.

If the required majority of votes has not been achieved, the amending of the Constitution according to the issues contained in the submitted proposal which has not been adopted shall not be considered in the following twelve months.

In case the National Assembly adopts the proposal for amending the Constitution, an act on amending the Constitution shall be drafted, that is, considered.

The National Assembly shall adopt an act on amending the Constitution by a two-third majority of the total number of deputies and may decide to have it endorsed in the republic referendum by the citizens.

The National Assembly shall be obliged to put forward the act on amending the Constitution in the republic referendum to have it endorsed, in cases when the amendment of the Constitution pertains to the preamble of the Constitution, principles of the Constitution, human and minority rights and freedoms, the system of authority, proclamation the state of war and emergency, derogation from human and minority rights in the state of emergency or war or the proceedings of amending the Constitution.

When the act on amending the Constitution is put forward for endorsement, the citizens shall vote in the referendum within no later than 60 days from the day of adopting the act on amending the Constitution. The amendment to the Constitution shall be adopted if the majority of voters who participated in the referendum voted in favour of the amendment.

The act on amending the Constitution endorsed in the republic referendum shall come into force once promulgated by the National Assembly.

If the National Assembly does not decide to put forward the act on amending the Constitution for endorsement, the amendment of the Constitution shall be adopted by voting in the National Assembly, and the act on amending the Constitution shall come into force once promulgated by the National Assembly.

4. Provisions concerning referendums

Article 108 Upon the request of the majority of all deputies or at least 100,000 voters, the National Assembly shall call the referendum on issues falling within its competence, in accordance with the Constitution and Law.

The subject of the referendum may not include duties deriving from international contracts, laws pertaining to human and minority rights and freedoms, fiscal and other financial laws, the budget and financial statement, introduction of the state of emergency and amnesty, as well as issues pertaining to election competences of the National Assembly.