| Constitution of the Republic of Serbia | |
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| Overview | |
| Original title | Устав Републике Србије |
| Jurisdiction | Serbia |
| Date effective | 8 November 2006 |
| System | Unitary,parliamentary, constitutionalrepublic |
| Government structure | |
| Branches | 3 |
| Head of state | President of the Republic |
| Chambers | Unicameral (National Assembly) |
| Executive | Dual (President of the Republic) (Government) |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court |
| Last amended | 9 February 2022 |
| Supersedes | Constitution of 1990 |
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 Serbia portal |
The currentConstitution of the Republic of Serbia (Serbian:Устав Републике Србије,romanized: Ustav Republike Srbije), also known asMitrovdan Constitution (Serbian:Митровдански устав,romanized: Mitrovdanski ustav), is the supreme and basic law ofSerbia. It was adopted in 2006, replacing the previousconstitution dating from 1990.[1]
The adoption of current constitution became necessary in 2006 when Serbia restored its independence followingMontenegro's secession and the subsequent dissolution ofSerbia and Montenegro. The proposed text of the constitution was adopted by theNational Assembly on 30 September 2006 and put onconstitutional referendum which was held on 28–29 October 2006. After 53% of the electorate voted in favor of the proposed constitution, it was officially adopted on 8 November 2006.
Aconstitutional referendum was held again on 16 January 2022, in which voters decided on changing the constitution in the provisions related to thejudiciary. To bring the judiciary into line withEuropean Union legislation, theGovernment of Serbia had previously proposed changing the way judges andpublic prosecutors are elected. After the adoption of constitutional changes, the National Assembly would have less influence on the election of certain judicial factors, such as the president of theSupreme Court, court presidents, public prosecutors, judges, and deputy public prosecutors. The National Assembly would then only elect four members of the High Judicial Council, High Prosecutorial Council, and the Supreme Public Prosecutor.[2] The High Judicial Council would instead get a more important role by electing all judges, while the High Prosecutorial Council would elect prosecutors.[2] The Supreme Court of Cassation's name would also be changed to the Supreme Court and its work would be more regulated.[3] Government officials stated their support for such changes, while the opposition remained divided; most stated their objection to the referendum while some even called for a boycott or for the referendum to be postponed. The "yes" option prevailed over the "no" option in the referendum, although turnout was reported to be the lowest since 1990, at only 30% of voters in total. Constitutional changes were adopted by the National Assembly on 9 February.
Serbia was one of the first European countries to adopt a modern constitution in the 19th century, with the1835 Constitution (also known as the Candlemas Constitution), following France (1791), Spain (1812), Norway (1814), the Netherlands (1814/1815), and Belgium (1831). This was a significant milestone, as it established Serbia as a pioneer in constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe, during a time when most European states lacked formal constitutions.[4]
The Constitution contains apreamble, 11 chapters, and 206 articles.
The constitution of contains apreamble:
The constitution is divided into 10 chapters:
Among the differences between the current and previous constitution are:[5]
The constitution defines theAutonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of Serbia, but with "substantial autonomy". Under the opinion of theVenice Commission in respect tosubstantial autonomy of Kosovo, 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.[6]
