1.
Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Relative to its territory, it is a diverse country distinguished by a transitional character, situated along cultural, geographic, climatic. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents, and its capital, Belgrade, following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, in the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the regions first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro which dissolved peacefully in 2006, in 2008 the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of organizations such as the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC. An EU membership candidate since 2012, Serbia has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, the country is acceding to the WTO and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an income economy with dominant service sector, followed by the industrial sector. The country ranks high on the Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index, relatively high on the Human Development Index, located at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361 km2, which places it at 113th place in the world, with Kosovo excluded, the area is 77,474 km2. Its total border length amounts to 2,027 km, all of Kosovos border with Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are under control of the Kosovo border police. The Pannonian Plain covers the third of the country while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart. Mountains dominate the third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina, the Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system, elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres to the lowest point of just 17 metres near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube, the climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
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Kosovo
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Kosovo is a disputed territory and partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe that declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo is landlocked in the central Balkan Peninsula, with its strategic position in the Balkans, it serves as an important link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea. Its capital and largest city is Pristina, and other urban areas include Prizren, Pejë. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, the Republic of Macedonia to the southeast, Montenegro to the west, while Serbia recognises administration of the territory by Kosovos elected government, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In antiquity, the Dardanian Kingdom, and later the Roman province of Dardania was located in the region, the area was inhabited by several ancient Illyrian tribes. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian Empires, Kosovo was the core of the medieval Serbian state and it has been the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate. After being part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century, the war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate under UNSCR1244. On 17 February 2008 Kosovos Parliament declared independence and it has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 111 UN member states, Taiwan, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Cook Islands and Niue. Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as a state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013 it has accepted the legitimacy of Kosovar institutions, the entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova or Kosovë. The name of the plain was applied to the Kosovo Province created in 1864, Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania, the name of a Roman province located in Central Balkans that was formed in 284 AD which covered the territory of modern Kosovo. The name is derived from the Albanian word dardha/dardā which means pear, the former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a Dardanian identity and the Kosovan flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, the name Kosova remains more widely used among the Albanian population, the official conventional long name of the state is Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, and is used to represent Kosovo internationally. This arrangement, which has dubbed the asterisk agreement, was agreed in an 11-point arrangement agreed on 24 February 2012. By the independence declaration in 2008, its long name became Republic of Kosovo. In prehistory, the succeeding Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, the area in and around Kosovo has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years. During the Neolithic age, Kosovo lay within the area of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black, bronze and Iron Age tombs have been found in Metohija. However, life during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is not confirmed yet, therefore, until arguments of Paleolithic and Mesolithic man are confirmed, Neolithic man, respectively the Neolithic sites are considered as the chronological beginning of population in Kosovo. From this period until today Kosovo has been inhabited, and traces of activities of societies from prehistoric, ancient, whereas, in some archaeological sites, multilayer settlements clearly reflect the continuity of life through centuries
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National Assembly (Serbia)
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The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies by secret ballot, the assembly elects a president who presides over the sessions. The current president of the assembly is Maja Gojković since 23 April 2014. The National Assembly exercise supreme legislative power, all decisions are made by majority vote of deputies at the session at which majority of deputies are present, except for amending the Constitution, when two thirds majority is needed. The assembly convenes in the House of the National Assembly in Belgrade, performs other functions stipulated by the Constitution and Law. Parliamentary elections are regulated by the Constitution, elections are called by the President of Serbia 90 days before the end of the term of office of the National Assembly, so that elections are finished within the following 60 days. The whole country is one electoral district,250 seats are than distributed between the lists using dHondt method. There is a minimum voting threshold of 5%, so only the party lists which get more than 5% of the votes are awarded the seats. There is no threshold for the ethnic minority lists, the assembly is composed of 250 deputies. At least 30% of the deputies are women, deputies may not hold dual functions which represent a conflict of interest. By means of majority votes of all deputies, the National Assembly elects the President of the Assembly and one or more Vice-Presidents, the President of the National Assembly represents the National Assembly, convokes its sessions, presides over them and performs other official activities. The vice-presidents assist the President in performing the duties within his/her purview, in case the President is temporarily absent, one of the Vice-Presidents designated by him/her stands in for him/her. If the President does not designate any of the Vice-Presidents to stand in for him/her, the Secretary of the National Assembly is appointed by the National Assembly. Secretary of the National Assembly assists the President and Vice-Presidents in preparing and chairing sittings, his/her term of office is terminated upon the constitution of a newly elected National Assembly, while he/she shall continue discharging his/her duties until the appointment of a new Secretary. Secretary is not elected from the deputies, and is not member of the Assembly, Parliamentary groups in the National Assembly are formed not later than seven days after the date of the election of the National Assembly President. A parliamentary group comprises the deputies of one party or organisation. A Parliamentary group is represented by the Group Head, a Group has its Deputy Head, who stands in for the head in case of his/her absence. During a National Assembly sitting, a Parliamentary group may authorise one of its members to represent the Group in relation with an item from the agenda
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Constitution of Kosovo
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The Constitution of Kosovo, refers to the supreme law of the Republic of Kosovo. Article four of the constitution establishes the rules and separate powers of the three branches of the government, the constitution was signed on 7 April 2008 at 13,00 local time at the national library in Pristina. The constitution was ratified on 9 April and came to effect on 15 June 2008, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo can be changed through the amendment process. Constitutional amendments are added to it, alerting its effect, Article 7, ensures the values and freedoms by the rule of law, equality same as respect, gender equality and social justice and the neutrality towards religion by the article 8 of the Constitution. The constitution guides Kosovos law and political culture, the final authority for the interpretation of the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. The head of the Assembly was Iljaz Kurteshi and the constitution was signed on 27 February 1974, first constitution attempted by Kosovo was integrated in the constitution of SFRY of 27 February 1974. Five points below explain the reasons for its existence and importance. Since 1944, and particularly under the 1974 SFRY constitution, Kosovo had a degree of autonomy. In all areas, social economic and national policy, Kosovo had the same protection that the republics had in disputes between Serbia and Kosovo including the Federal Constitutional court. This was removed in 1989–1990 and could not be re-established once the SFRY had disintegrated, the position of Kosovo under the 1974 Constitution was cancelled in 1989–1990 by Serbias federal authorities. Some think that this speech helped Miloševic consolidate his authority in Serbia, with the rise to power of nationalist movement in Serbia, the limitation of powers for Kosovo begin. In 1989 Serbian assembly began passing amendments for restricting Kosovos powers, however, Serbia could propose such amendments they required acceptance by the Kosovo Assembly before being adopted. Representatives handpicked by Serbia approved changes to Kosovos Constitution, starting the disintegration of the SFRY, on 2 July 1990, the self-declared Kosovo parliament declared Kosovo a republic in Yugoslavia. On 7 September 1990 in the town of Kaçanik,35 miles south of Prishtina, witch confirmed the referendum and on 22 September 1991 declared Kosovo an independent country, the Republic of Kosovo. The Constitution of Kaçanik 1990, was written to give Albanians freedom, fairness and wellbeing within Yugoslavia and stipulated that the people were the ones who select their wellbeing, the head of the meeting on 7 September 1990 was Iljaz Ramajli. Kosovos constitutional status of the period June 1999 – February 2008 was established by the United Nations in UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999. The Security Council placed Kosovo under the administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. It also established a requirement that the status process must take full account of the principles of sovereignty
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Politics of Serbia
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The politics of Serbia function within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. The prime minister is the head of government, while the president is the head of state, Serbia is a parliamentary republic composed of three branches of government, an executive, legislature, and judiciary. Executive power is exercised by the minister, who heads a cabinet. The prime minister is chosen by the National Assembly on the proposal of the president, the president is elected based on popular vote, but has little governing power and is primarily a ceremonial position. The president’s term lasts five years and can be elected for at most 2 terms, cabinet ministers are nominated by the prime minister and confirmed by the National Assembly. Governing power is vested in the minister, deputy prime ministers. The prime minister is responsible for presenting his agenda to the National Assembly as well as proposing the ministers to fill the posts in his government. The government is considered elected if it has been elected by a majority vote of all representatives in the National Assembly, legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament known as the National Assembly, which is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies by secret ballot. The National Assembly also wields constitutional authority in the republic, the judicial system of Serbia is headed by the Supreme Court of Cassation. The court reviews and possibly rules on past court cases made at the lower court levels, the 2008 Law on Organization of Courts greatly decreased the number of courts in Serbia - from 168 to 64. In addition many different court tiers were established, the Basic, High, and Appellate Courts and as previously mentioned, there are also special courts of jurisdiction, such the Commercial court, Commercial court of Appeal, Administrative court of Serbia. Serbia uses the multi-party system, with political parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone. Elections are held on the parliamentary, provincial and local level, Serbia was granted candidate status for membership in the European Union and it submitted its application 4 years earlier. Serbia made progress in meeting the established by the European in recent years. For example, Serbia provided majority municipalities in Kosovo with broad powers in education, healthcare and it is also a candidate for the World Trade Organization and was expected to join by 2013. Kosovo, on the hand, has been deemed a United Nations protectorate since 1999. On February 17,2008 ethnic Albanians in the region declared Kosovo’s independence, the Serbian government did not recognize this attempted demand for independence and saw and is null under the UN Charter and the Serbian constitution. Although the Serbian government has stated it shall not acknowledge Kosovo’s independence, constitution of Serbia List of Ambassadors from Serbia List of political parties in Serbia
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Constitutional Court of Serbia
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The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia is the court authorized to perform judicial review in the Republic of Serbia. It rules on whether the laws, decrees or other bills enacted by the Serbian authorities are in conformity with the Constitution and it is not considered as part of the judicial branch, but a court sui generis. The Constitutional Court is authorized by the Constitution itself and the Law on the Constitutional Court, the seat of the Constitutional Court is in Belgrade. It consists of 15 judges, one of them being President of the Court, the Constitutional Law of Serbia, enacted on 25 December 1963, defined jurisdiction and adjudications before the Constitutional Court and legal effects of its decisions in a more specific manner. The Constitutional Court of Serbia commenced its work on 15 February 1964, the Constitutional Court has through its presence and work contributed to the importance and contribution in preservation of the constitutional principles and legality. The Constitutional Court consists of 15 judges, five of them are elected by the President of Serbia, five by the National Assembly, and five are elected at the General Session of the Supreme Court of Cassation. Judges are elected to the 9-year term, the candidates have to be accomplished lawyers of at least 40 years of age and with at least 15 years of experience in jurisprudence. One person can be elected to the Court a maximum of two times, after the election, the judges take oath before the President of the National Assembly. The term of the Constitutional Court judge ends after 9 years since the election, or by resignation, by retirement or by impeachment. A Constitutional Court judge may not perform any public office or any other job at all. A Constitutional Court judge enjoys immunity from prosecution, composition as of 2016, Vesna Ilić Prelić, President Goran P. Ilić, Deputy President Bratislav Đokić Milan B. According to the profile of its collections, the Library of the Constitutional Court is a law library. The library is in charge of collecting, storing, cataloguing, the Library is in possession of a large collection of monographs, serial publications, and collections of papers. In addition, it has a database of legal acts. The Constitutional Court Library owns a collection of legal acts issued in the late 19th. The Library cooperates with the office of Belgrade City Library, National Library of Serbia. Constitutional Court of Serbia Official page
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President of Serbia
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The President of Serbia, officially styled as the President of the Republic, is the head of state of Serbia. The current office holder is Tomislav Nikolić who was elected on 20 May 2012, the term of office of the President of the Republic shall last five years and begin from the day of taking of the oath before the National Assembly. No one shall be elected to a position of the President of the Republic more than twice. The term of office of the President of the Republic shall end with expiry of the period of time for which he or she has been elected, the President of the Republic shall tender his/her resignation to the Chairman of the National Assembly. Politics of Serbia Prime Minister of Serbia Official website of the President of Serbia People´s Office of the President
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Government of Serbia
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The Government of Serbia, formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia, commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government, is the executive branch of government in Serbia. The affairs of government are decided by a Cabinet of Ministers, the incumbent Cabinet was elected on 11 August 2016. The incumbent Cabinet was elected on 11 August 2016 by a majority vote in the National Assembly and it is the second consecutive cabinet presided by Aleksandar Vučić. It has 19 members,16 with a ministry and 3 without portfolio, Cabinet of Serbia Cabinet of Serbia Cabinet of Serbia Cabinet of Serbia Cabinet of Serbia Cabinet of Serbia Official website
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Prime Minister of Serbia
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The Prime Minister of Serbia, officially the President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, is the head of the Government of Serbia. The role of the Prime Minister is to direct the work of the Government, the resignation of the Prime Minister will cause the fall of the Government. The current Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vučić, the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, was appointed by President Tomislav Nikolić on 27 April 2014. Vučić is due to office by 31 May 2017, when he is due to take office as President of Serbia for a five-year term. Initially the Council had no ministers, just members, but in 1811 modern ministries were created, Government ceased to exist with the collapse of the First Serbian Uprising on 3 October 1813, however later continued in exile in Hotin from 1813 until 1814. Government was restored on 21 November 1815 following the Second Serbian Uprising, head of government was styled Princes Representative. The style remained official until 1861, even after the establishing of constitutional government in 1835, prior to that date, the office was of no major importance or influence and depended solely on the will of the Prince Miloš Obrenović. From 1861 until 1903, the head of government was styled President of the Ministry, from 1903 until the creation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 December 1918, head of government was styled President of the Council of Ministers. Under the communist regime after 1945, Serbia got a sort of separate Tito-appointed government opposed to the German-installed one in September 1941, First, the head of government was styled President of the Executive Council of the Supreme National Liberational Council until 7 March 1945. In some later articles about the recent history of Serbia, term is applied to Stanko Radmilović, Desimir Jevtić
