On the ground of articles 8 and 61 of the Constitutional Charter of the state union Serbia and Montenegro, the Federal Assembly, at the session of the Chamber of Citizens held on 28 February 2003, and at the sesssion of the Chamber of Member-States, held on 28 February 2003, hereby enact
THE CHARTERON HUMAN AND MINORITY RIGHTS AND CIVIL FREEDOMS(»Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro«, No. 6/2003) |
I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Human Dignity and Free Development of Personality
Article 1
Human dignity shall be inviolable. Everyone shall be obliged to protect it.
Everyone shall be entitled to free development of his personality, on condition that he does not violate the rights of others guaranteed by the present Charter.
Respect of Human and Minority Rights
Article 2
Everyone shall be obliged to respect human and minorty rights of others.
The human and minority rights guaranteed by the present Charter shall apply directly, in accordance with the Constitutional Charter of the state union Serbia and Montenegro.
Human and minority rights guaranteed by the present Charter shall be directly regulated, secured and protected by the constitutions, laws, and policy of the member-states.
Ban on Discrimination
Article 3
Every person shall be equal before the law.
Everyone shall be entitled to equal legal protection without discrimination.
Every direct or indirect discrimination, on any ground whatsoever, including race, colour, sex, national affiliation, social origin, birth or similar status, religious belief, political or other beliefs, property status, culture, language, old age or psychical or physical invalidity, shall be prohibited.
Temporary introduction of special measures shall be permitted which are indispensable for the realisation of equality, the protection and the advancement of persons or groups of persons that are in an unequal position, with the purpose of providing complete exercising of human and minority rights under equal conditions.
Special measures referred to in paragraph 4 of the present Article may be applied solely until the objectives being their cause are attained.
Ban on Abolishment or Restriction of Human and Minority Rights Spelled out by the Present Charter
Article 4
Provisions of the present Charter shall not be interpreted so as to imply the right of the state union, the member-states, a group or an individual to take actions aimed at the abolishment of rights guaranteed by the present Charter, or at their restriction to a degree higher than that spelled out by the Constitutional Charter of the state union Serbia and Montenegro, the present Charter and the constitutions of the member-states.
Restrictions of Human and Minority Rights
Article 5
Guaranteed human and minority rights may be reduced only on the ground of restrictions spelled out by the Constitutional Charter of the state union Serbia and Montenegro, the present Charter, and the constitutions of the member-states, by a statute having a general application and containing the reference to the provision permitting the restriction.
The guaranteed human and minority rights may be restricted only to a degree that is indispensable to meet, in an open and a free democratic society, the purpose being the ground for permitting the restriction.
Restrictions shall not be introduced for purposes other than those because of which they are prescribed.
In restricting human and minority rights and in interpreting these restrictions, all state authorities, and particularly the courts of law, shall take into account the essence of the right that is restricted, the importance of the purpose of restriction, the nature and scope of restriction, the relationship between the restriction and its purpose, and whether there is a way to attain this purpose through a lesser restriction of the right that is involved.
The restriction in any case shall not infringe upon the essence of the guaranteed right.
Departing from Human and Minority Rights
Article 6
After an official declaration of the state of war or the state of emergency, if the existence of the state union or a member-state is imperiled, the measures shall be permitted of departing from human and minority rights guaranteed by the present Charter, but only to a degree that is indispensable in a given situation.
Measures of departure shall not involve discrimination on the ground of race, colour, sex, language, faith, national affiliation or social origin.
Measures of departure from the human and minority rights in areas that are in the jurisdiction of the institutions of the state union, may be enacted in the general acts only by the assemblies of Serbia and Montenegro or the Council of Ministers, if the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro is not able to convene. A decision on departing from the human and minority rights in the case of declaring a state of war shall be rendered in agreement with the competent authorities of the member states.
Measures of departure from the human and minority rights in areas that are in their jurisdiction, shall be regulated by the member-states in their constitutions and laws, in accordance with the present Charter.
Measures of departure from the human and minority rights that are enacted by the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro or the Council of Ministers shall be valid for 90 days, and after the expiration of that period they may be extended for additional 90 day periods.
The Council of Ministers shall be obliged to submit for ratification to the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro the acts providing for measures of departure from the human and minority rights, as soon as it becomes possible for it to convene. In a contrary case, the measures of departure shall cease to be valid on the termination of the first session of the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro that is held after the declaration of the state of war.
Measures of departing from the human and minority rights shall cease to be valid on the termination of the state of war or the state of emergency.
During the state of war the Court of Serbia and Montenegro shall continue its work. The status and powers of the Court of Serbia and Montenegro and its judges shall remain unchanged.
Measures of departure in any case shall not be permitted with regard to rights guaranteed by articles 1, 11,12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 35, 50, and 51 of the present Charter.
Human and Minority Rights Guaranteed by International Law
Article 7
Human and minority rights as guaranteed by the generally accepted international law rules, as well as by international treaties that are in force in the state union, shall be guaranteed by the present Charter and shall be directly applied.
Ban on Restriction of Human and Minority Rights under the Pretext of Their Not Being Guaranteed by the Present Charter
Article 8
There shall be no restriction of human and minority rights that are guaranteed by the generally accepted international law rules, international treaties valid in the state union, and laws and other regulations in force, under the pretext of their not being guaranteed by the present Charter or that they are guaranteed to a lesser scope.
Protection in Court and Elimination of Consequences of Human and Minority Rights Infringement
Article 9
Everyone shall be entitled to protection in court in the case of infringement or denial of some of his human or minority rights as guaranteed by the present Charter, which includes the right to elimination of consequences of such violation.
Every person considering that some of his human and minority rights, as guaranteed by the present Charter, are infringed or denied by a specific act or action of an institution of the state union, and/or a government agency of a member-state or an organisation vested with public powers, shall be entitled to lodge a complaint to the Court of Serbia and Montenegro, unless other legal protection is provided for in a member-state, in accordance with the Constitutional Charter.
Decisions of international bodies, including the covering of expenses, shall be executed by the state union and/or a member-state, depending on whether the infringement or denial of a right, that is guaranteed by an international treaty valid in the territory of Serbia and Montenegro, has been caused by an institution of the state union, a government agency of the member-state, or an organisation vested with public powers.
Interpretation of Provisions Relating to Human and Minority Rights
Article 10
Human and minority rights guaranteed by the present Charter, shall be interpreted in the manner aimed at the promotion of values of an open and free democratic society, in accordance with the valid international guarantees of human and minority rights and the practice of international bodies supervising their implementation.
II HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Right to Life
Article 11
Human life shall be inviolable. Capital punishment does not exist in the state union Serbia and Montenegro.
Cloning of human beings shall be prohibited.
Inviolability of Physical and Psychical Integrity
Article 12
Everyone shall be entitled to inviolability of physical and psychical integrity.
No one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
No one shall be subjected to medical or scientific tests without his freely expressed consent.
Ban on Slavery, Status Similar to Slavery and Forced Labour
Article 13
No one shall be kept in slavery or in the status similar to slavery. Trade of people shall be prohibited in every form.
Forced labour shall be prohibited. Sexual or economic exploitation of a person found in an unfavourable position shall also be qualified as forced labour.
The work or service which, in accordance with law, is required from persons sentenced by a finally binding decision, from persons engaged in military service or from the ones in the event of emergency that imperils the existence of the community, shall not be considered as a forced labour.
Right to Freedom and Security
Article 14
Everyone shall have the right of personal freedom and security.
No one shall be deprived of his liberty by someone's arbitrariness. Deprivation of liberty shall be permitted only in cases and in the manner laid down by the law of the state union or the laws of the member-states.
No one shall be deprived of liberty only because of being unable to meet his contractual obligation.
Every person taken into custody must be informed immediately, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest or of the accusations, as well as of his rights.
Every person taken into custody shall be entitled to immediately inform accordingly a person of his choice.
Every person taken into custody shall be entitled to institute proceedings in which the court, in an urgent procedure, shall check the legality of the deprivation of liberty and, where the taking into custody is unlawful, order the release from custody.
A person deprived of liberty shall be treated humanely and with respecting the dignity of his personality. Particularly forbidden shall be every use of force against the person taken into custody or of forcible extraction of statements.
Every person who has been unlawfully deprived of liberty shall be entitled to compensation of damage.
Additional Guarantees in the Event of Deprivation of Liberty Due to Criminal Offence or Infraction
Article 15
A detained person must promptly be informed of his right to remain silent and of the right to have a defence counsel of his own choice to be present at his interrogation.
The detained person must be brought before a competent court without delay and no later than within 48 hours. In the contrary case, such person shall be released.
A person reasonably suspected of having committed a criminal offence may be detained only by decision of a competent court, when this is necessary for the conduct of criminal proceedings.
The length of detention must be reduced to the shortest possible time, in accordance with law, which shall be the matter to be taken care of by the competent court.
Special Guarantees
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to be informed, in the shortest possible time limit, in detail and in a language which he understands, of the nature and reasons for the accusation against him, including the right to be tried without dragging out.
Everyone shall be entitled to defend himself, including the right to engage a defence counsel of his own choice before the court or other body authorised to conduct proceedings, to communicate without disturbance with his defence counsel, and to have sufficient time and conditions to prepare his defence.
The cases shall be spelled out by statute where the interest of equity requires that an accused, unable to pay for the service of the defence counsel, be given a defence counsel appointed in line of duty.
An accused who does not understand or speak the language used in the proceedings, shall be entitled to assistance of an interpreter.
Every person accessible to the court or other body authorised to conduct proceedings, may not be punished without being granted a hearing and allowed to defend himself.
No one shall be obliged to testify against himself or confess his guilt.
Fair Trial Right
Article 17
Everyone shall be guaranteed equal protection of his rights in the proceedings before the courts, other government bodies and entities vested with public powers.
Everyone shall be entitled to have his rights, duties, as well as accusations against him, decided without delay by an independent, impartial and legally established court.
Court decisions shall be passed in public, and judicial proceedings shall be public, except in cases spelled out by statute.
Right to Legal Remedies
Article 18
Everyone shall have the right of appeal or resort to other legal remedy against a decision relating to his right, duty or a legally founded interest.
Presumption of Innocence
Article 19
Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty for a criminal offence under a finally valid decision of the court.
Ban on Retroactivity, Punishment Only on the Ground of Law
Article 20
No one may be considered guilty or punished for an act which, prior to have been committed, did not constitute a penal offence under the statute.
Punishments shall be pronounced pursuant to the statute that was in force at the time of commission of the act, unless the subsequent statute is more lenient for the perpetrator.
Ne Bis in Idem
Article 21
No one may be punished a second time for one and the same act.
Right to Rehabilitation and Compensation of Damage for an Erroneous Sentence in the Criminal Proceedings
Article 22
A person who has been convicted without ground for a punishable act, shall be entitled to rehabilitation and compensation of damage by the state.
Right to Property
Article 23
The right to own property and the right of inheritance shall be guaranteed. The use of property may be restricted by statute, in accordance with the general interest.
No one may be deprived of ownership unless in accordance with public interest, as specified on the ground of law, and against a compensation that shall not be lower than the market one, or in order to effect the collection of taxes, other dues or fines.
Disputes incident to the amount of compensation shall be settled by a competent court.
Right to the Respect of Private and Family Life
Article 24
Everyone shall have the right to the respect of private and family life, of home and of privacy of mail.
No one may enter into someone else's dwelling or other premises against the will of their tenant, or carry out a search in them, except on the ground of a court warrant. Entering someone else's dwelling or other premises, and their search without the court warrant, shall be permitted only if so required to directly apprehend the perpetrator of a criminal offence, or to eliminate a direct and serious danger for people or property, as laid down by statute.
Privacy of mail and other means of communication shall be inviolable. Exceptions for a specified period of time shall be permitted solely on the ground of a court decision, if so required for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings or of defence of the country, in the mode spelled out by statute.
Protection of personal data shall be guaranteed. Their collection, keeping and utilization shall be regulated by statute. Utilization of personal data for purposes other than those for which they were compiled shall be prohibited. Everyone shall have the right of access to personal data concerning himself, in accordance with the statute,
Right to Contract a Marriage
Article 25
The right of contracting a marriage on the ground of a freely expressed consent of future spouses shall be guaranteed. Contracting of marriage, its duration and divorce shall be based on the equality of the spouses.
Children born out of wedlock shall have the same rights as children born in wedlock.
Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
Article 26
Everyone shall have the right of freedom of thought, conscience, beliefs or religion, which includes the freedom of keeping one's beliefs or religion, or of changing them according to one's choice.
No one shall be obliged to reveal his religious and other beliefs.
Everyone shall be free to express, in private or public life, his religion or beliefs by profession of religion, performance of rites, attending a mass and instruction, both individually or jointly with others.
Freedom of expression of religion or beliefs may be restricted by statute if so required for protecting public security, health, morals or rights of other persons.
Parents as well as legal guardians shall have the right of providing to their children religious and moral education in accordance with their beliefs.
Religious Communions
Article 27
Religious communions shall be equal in rights and separate from the state.
Religious communions shall be free in the autonomous regulation of their internal organisation, conducting of religious affairs and in the performance of religious rites.
Religious communions shall have the right of establishing religious schools and charitable organisations, in conformity with the statute.
Objection on the Ground of Conscience
Article 28
The objection on the ground of conscience shall be recognised in the state union Serbia and Montenegro.
No one shall be obliged, contrary to his religion or beliefs, to carry out a military or other duty involving the use of arms. Such person may be called to perform an adequate civilian service, in conformity with the statute.
Freedom of Thought and Expression
Article 29
Everyone shall have the right of freedom of thought and expression. This right shall include the freedom of requesting, receiving and disseminating information and ideas by speaking, writing, painting or in any other way.
Everyone shall have the right of access to data in possession of the state authorities, in conformity with the statute.
The right of freedom of expression may be restricted by statute if so required for the protection of rights and reputation of other persons, the preservation of authority and impartiality of courts, national security, public health and morals, or public safety.
Freedom of Media
Article 30
Everyone may establish, without a permit, a newspaper and other public information media. Television and radio stations shall be set up pursuant to the laws of the member-states.
There shall be no censorship in the state union Serbia and Montenegro.
Everyone shall be entitled to have published false, incomplete or incorrectly transmitted information, which infringes upon his right or an interest, corrected pursuant to the statute.
Everyone shall be entitled to reply to an information published in the media, pursuant to the statute.
No one may prevent the distribution of press or dissemination of information and ideas by means of other public media, unless it has been determined by a decision of a competent court that this has been necessary in order to prevent a war propaganda, inciting to direct violence or propagating racial, national or religious hatred that amount to calling to discrimination, hostility or violence.
Freedom of Assembly
Article 31
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly shall be guaranteed.
There shall be no need for a prior permit or notification for an assembly in closed spaces.
The member-states may prescribe by their statutes the duty of notification to a competent body of meetings and demonstrations in the open spaces.
Freedom of assembly may be restricted by the statutes of member-states, in the event of a necessity to protect public safety, public health and morals, national security or the rights of other persons.
Freedom of Association
Article 32
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association, including the right to be a member of an organisation.
Political, trade-union and other organisations shall be established, without a prior approval, by being entered in a registry kept at the competent body.
The right to freedom of association may be restricted by the statutes of member-states, in the event of a necessity to protect public safety, public health and morals, national security or the protection of rights of other persons.
Organisations whose activity is directed towards a violent overthrow of the constitutional order, abolishment of guaranteed human rights or the incitement of racial, national or religious hatred, may be banned by a decision of a competent court.
Right to Free Elections
Article 33
Citizens of the state union Serbia and Montenegro shall have the right to take part in the decision-making process relating to public affairs, either directly or through the representatives who are elected by free and secret vote, in the general and periodical elections.
A citizen of the state union Serbia and Montenegro who has reached the age of 18 shall be entitled to vote and to be elected to bodies of local self-government, state authorities of the state union and to institutions of the state union, in accordance with the Constitutional Charter and statutes of the member-states. The right to vote shall be general and equal, and voting shall be secret.
Right to Petition
Article 34
Everyone shall be entitled to address the state authorities, individually or jointly with others, to submit petitions and other proposals and to receive an answer if so requested. No one shall bear harmful consequences for using this right.
Citizenship
Article 35
A child born in the territory of Serbia and Montenegro, having no other citizenship, shall have the right to citizenship.
A citizen of the state union Serbia and Montenegro shall not be deprived of citizenship, banished from the state union Serbia and Montenegro, or extradited from its territory, unless pursuant to the international commitments of the state union.
Legal Age
Article 36
Legal age shall be reached at 18 full years of age.
Right to Freedom of Movement
Article 37
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of movement and residence in the entire territory of the state union Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the right to leave the state union and to return to it.
The freedom of movement and residence and the right to leave the territory of Serbia and Montenegro may be restricted by statute, if so required for the conducting of criminal proceedings, protection of public law and order, prevention of the spreading of contagious diseases, or for the defence of the country.
The entry of aliens to the territory of Serbia and Montenegro and the stay in it shall be regulated by statute. An alien may be extradited from the territory of Serbia and Montenegro only on the ground of a decision of a competent authority, and pursuant to a legally prescribed procedure.
The extradited person may not be directed to a place where he will be threatened with the persecution on the ground of his race, religion, citizenship, membership in a specific social group or because of his political opinion, or with serious infringement of the rights guaranteed by the present Charter.
Right to Asylum in the State Union Serbia and Montenegro
Article 38
Every alien having a reasonable fear from persecution because of his race, colour, sex, language, religion, national affiliation, belonging to a group or because of his political beliefs, shall have the right of asylum in Serbia and Montenegro. The procedure of granting the asylum shall be regulated by statute.
Every person who has been forcibly displaced within the scope of the territory of Serbia and Montenegro shall be entitled to an efficient protection and assistance, in accordance with the laws and international commitments of Serbia and Montenegro.
Special Protection of Family, Mother and Child
Article 39
Family, mother and child shall enjoy special protection of the society and the member-states.
The right of a mother to support and to protection by the member-states, within a legally prescribed period, prior and after the childbirth, shall be guaranteed.
Right to Work
Article 40
The right to work shall be guaranteed, in accordance with the law. Member-states shall create conditions in which everybody may live from his labour.
Everybody shall be entitled to free choice of work.
Everybody shall be entitled to equitable and adequate conditions of work, and particularly to equitable remuneration for his work.
Right to Strike
Article 41
Employed persons shall have the right to strike, in accordance with the statute.
Social Security and Social Insurance
Article 42
Every person having his residence in the state union Serbia and Montenegro shall have the right to social security and social insurance, in accordance with the statute.
Right to Education
Article 43
Everybody shall be entitled to education.
Primary education shall be compulsory. The member-states shall be obliged to provide for a primary education free of charge.
Establishing of schools and universities shall be regulated by the statutes of the member-states.
Freedom of Scientific and Artistic Creation
Article 44
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of scientific and artistic creation.
Creators of scientific and artistic works shall be guaranteed moral and material rights, in conformity with the law.
Right to Health Protection
Article 45
Everyone shall have the right to health protection.
The member-states shall provide for the health care of children, expecting mothers and elderly, if they do not have it on another ground.
Healthy Environment
Article 46
Everyone, and particularly the state union and the member-states, shall be responsible for the environment protection.
Everyone shall be entitled to a healthy environment and to a timely and complete information about its condition.
It is everyone's duty to preserve and promote the environment.
III RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES
Ground and Extent of Rights of Members of National Minorities
Article 47
Protection of rights of members of national minorities shall be exercised in accordance with the international law protection of human and minority rights.
Members of national minorities shall have individual and collective rights, the rights that are effected individually or jointly with others, pursuant to the law and international standards.
Collective rights shall imply that members of national minorities, directly or through their elected representatives, take part in the decision-making process or decide on certain matters that are connected to their culture, education, information and use of language and script, in accordance with the law.
For the purpose of exercising the right to self-government in the areas of culture, education, information and official use of language and script, the members of national minorities may elect their national councils, in accordance with the statute.
In addition to the term - national minorities, other terms may be equally used that are spelled out in the constitutions and the laws of the member-states.
Freedom of Expressing National Identity
Article 48
Freedom of expressing national identity shall be guaranteed.
No one shall be obliged to reveal his national affiliation.
Ban on Discrimination
Article 49
Members of national minorities shall be guaranteed the equality before the law and the equal legal protection.
There shall be no discrimination at all on the ground of belonging to a national minority.
Regulations, measures and actions aimed at providing of the rights of members of national minorities, where they find themselves in an unequal position, that are taken in order to make possible for them a full enjoyment of rights under equal conditions, shall not be considered as discrimination.
Ban on Forcible Assimilation
Article 50
Forcible assimilation of members of national minorities shall be prohibited.
The member-states and the state union Serbia and Montenegro shall be obliged to protect members of national minorities against any kind of action aimed at such assimilation.
Ban on Incitement of Racial, National, and Religious Hatred
Article 51
Enciting and encouraging of national, racial, religious or other inequality, as well as inciting and fomenting of national, racial, religious or other hatred and intolerance, shall be prohibited and punishable.
Rights to Preservation of Particularity
Article 52
Members of national minorities shall be entitled:
- to express, preserve, foster, develop and publicly reveal the national and ethnic, cultural and religious particularities;
- to use their symbols in public places;
- to a free use of their language and script;
- to have state authorities, in areas with minority population, conduct proceedings also in the language of a national minority that makes a significant part of the population;
- to schooling in their own language in the state institutions;
- to establish private educational institutions at all levels;
- to use their own name and surname in their language;
- to have, in areas with significant number of minority population, the traditional local signs, street and settlement names, as well as topographic designations, inscribed in the language of a minority as well;
- to a specific number of mandates in the assembly of a member-state and the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro, while beginning with the principle of direct representation, in accordance with the laws of the member-states;
- to corresponding representation in public services, government and local self-government bodies;
- to complete and impartial information in their own language, including the right to express, receive, send and exchange information and ideas;
- to establish their own media.
The manner of making use of these rights shall be regulated by statute.
Right to Association
Article 53
Members of national minorities shall have the right to establish educational and cultural organisations and associations, which are financed on a voluntary basis.
Organisations and associations of members of national minorities shall be recognised a special role in the realisation of rights of the members of national minorities.
Co-operation with Conationals in Other States
Article 54
Members of national minorities shall have the right to establish unhindered relations and to co-operate with their conationals outside the territory of the state union Serbia and Montenegro.
Promotion of Conditions of Life
Article 55
The member-states shall be obliged, wherever necessary, to adopt corresponding measures aimed at the promotion of a full and effective equality between members of a national minority and those belonging to the majority, in all the areas of economic, social, political and cultural activities.
The measures specified in paragraph 1 of the present Article, when required, shall include the elimination of markedly unfavourable conditions of life, that particularly affect the members of a specific national minority.
The state union Serbia and Montenegro, within the scope of its jurisdiction, as determined by the Constitutional Charter, and the member-states shall guarantee to members of national minorities the right to take part, on an equal footing with other citizens, in the managing of public affairs, including the right to vote and to appoint candidates for public function positions.
Developing a Spirit of Tolerance
Article 56
The state union Serbia and Montenegro, and the member-states shall promote, in the areas of education, culture, and information, the spirit of tolerance and inter-cultural dialogue, and shall take efficient measures for fostering mutual respect, understanding, and co-operation between all people living in their territories, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, language or religious identities.
Guarantee of Acquired Rights
Article 57
The achieved level of human and minority rights, both individual and collective, may not be diminished.
This Charter shall not abolish or change the rights of members of national minorities, that are acquired on the ground of regulations which were applicable until the coming into force of the present Charter, as well as the rights acquired on the ground of international treaties that were joined by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.