LAWON NATIONAL COUNCILS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES("Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia", No. 72/2009) |
Article 1
This Law regulates competences of the National Minority Councils (hereinafter: National Councils) with regard to culture, education, informing, official use of language and script, electoral procedures for National Councils and their funding, as well as other issues of National Councils' concern.
Article 2
Members of national minorities in the Republic of Serbia shall have the right to elect their National Councils with a view to exercising the right on self-government regarding culture, education, dissemination of information and official use of language and script.
A national minority shall be represented by its National Council in the field of education, culture, informing in the language of a national minority as well as in the official use of language and script, and it shall participate in the decision making process or decide on the questions related to these fields and establish institutions, business companies and other organisations in the fields mentioned.
Article 3
The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights (hereinafter: the Ministry) shall keep the National Councils Register.
Registration shall be done through a registry application, submitted by Head of the National Council within 30 days of the Council's constitution day.
By registering itself with the National Council, a national minority shall acquire the status of legal personality.
Article 4
Registration shall be completed within 30 days upon the reception of the valid application.
By means of registration, the following information shall be entered in the Register: name and location of the National Council, name, residence and personal identification number of Head of the National Council, date of the adoption of the Statute, or amendments to the Statute, as well as date of registration.
Information in the Register shall be available for public use.
The Ministry shall further regulate the content and manner of keeping the Register.
Article 5
The National Council may acquire and sell movable and immovable property, and according to the decision of the competent body it may be a beneficiary of any public property in accordance with law.
Article 6
National Council shall have a Statute.
The following matters shall be regulated by the Statute:
1) Work of the National Council;
2) Number of the National Council members; in accordance with the Law
3) Seat of the National Council;
4) Name, symbol and seal of the National Council;
5) Number and electoral procedure for electing members of the National Council bodies;
6) Other bodies of the National Council, number of members and procedure for their election;
7) Recognitions and ways of awarding them, and
8) Other matters important for the work of the National Council.
In case of amendments to the Statute, the National Council shall be obliged to inform, within 30 days, the Ministry and shall forward any amendment to the Statute as well as the minutes of the session at which these were adopted.
II QUESTIONS REGARDING STATUS OF NATIONAL COUNCILS
Article 7
The National Council shall have a president, executive body, committees for education, culture, informing and official use of language and script.
Consultative bodies and other National Council bodies may be defined by the Statute.
President of the National Council shall represent and act on behalf of the National Council.
President of the National Council shall be elected from among its members.
The work of the National Council shall be open to public.
Article 8
The National Council shall take valid decisions if more than a half of the National Council members are attending the session.
The National Council Statute shall be adopted if voted for by more than a half of all the National Council members.
President of the National Council and Head of the National Council's Executive Body shall be elected if they obtain more than a half of total vote of all the National Council members.
The National Council shall make other decisions based on the simple majority of the members present unless a qualified majority is prescribed by the Statute.
2. Number of the National Council Members
Article 9
The National Council shall consist of at least 15 members, but not more than 35.
The National Council shall consist of 15 members if according to the latest census a national minority has a population of less than 10,000 people or if the number is not specified.
The National Council shall consist of 19 members if according to the latest census the population of a national minority exceeds 10,000 but is less than 20,000.
The National Council shall consist of 23 members if according to the latest census the population of a national minority ranges between 20,000 and 50,000 people.
The National Council shall consist of 29 members if according to the latest census the population of a national minority ranges between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
The National Council shall consist of 35 members if according to the latest census the population of a national minority counts more than 100,000 people.
Members of the National Council are elected to a four-year term of office.
The mandate of the National Council's first session shall start on the registration day.
III COMPETENCES OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
Article 10
In compliance with law and its Statute, and through its bodies, the National Council shall independently:
1) Adopt and amend the National Council Statute;
2) Adopt the financial plan, financial report and final financial statement;
3) Dispose of its property;
4) Decide about the National Council's name, symbols and seal;
5) Determine national symbols, emblems and holidays of national minorities;
6) Establish institutions, associations, funds and business organisations in the area of education, culture, informing and official use of language and script as well as in other areas which are important for the preservation of a national minority's identity;
7) Put forward a national minority representative in the council on interethnic relations in local self-government unit;
8) Determine and award recognitions;
9) Initiate the adoption of and monitor the implementation of law and other normative acts in the field of culture, education, informing and official use of language and script;
10) Participate in drafting regulations and motion amendments to legislation which regulates national minority rights guaranteed by the Constitution in the field of culture, education, informing and official use of language and script;
11) Motion the adoption of special regulations and provisional measures in domains in which right to self-government is realised, so as to achieve full equality among national minority members and citizens belonging to the majority nation;
12) Institute the procedure before the Constitutional Court, the Citizens' Protector, regional and local Ombudsman, and other competent bodies; when assessing that rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities guaranteed by the Constitution and law have being violated
13) Institute the procedure mentioned under item 12 of this Article on behalf of the national minority member with his prior authorisation in writing;
14) Take positions, start initiatives and take measures in all issues which are directly related to a national minority's status, identity and rights
15) Rule on other issues entrusted to it by law or acts of the autonomous province and local self-government unit;
2. Competences in the Field of Education
Article 11
The National Council may, in accordance with law, establish educational institutions; those related to pupils' and students' standard and exercise the rights and obligations of the founder.
The institutions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be established by the National Council itself or in co-operation with the Republic, autonomous province, local self-government unit or other legal personality in accordance with law.
The Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit, acting as founders referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, may delegate their right of establishment, in its entirety or to a degree, to the National Council.
Participation in the Institutional Management
Article 12
In pre-school institutions and primary and high schools, which are established by the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit and where a nationality minority language is used in the education work, or which have a special school subject dealing with speech, language or culture of a national minority, the National Council shall:
1) Give opinion on proposed candidates for membership in the managing and/or school board - local self-government unit representatives;
2) Put forward candidates for membership in the management, i.e. school board - local self-government unit representatives at the institutions where in most of the classes teaching is done in a national minority language and which were defined as institutions of particular importance for the national minority;
3) Give opinion on the candidate running for director of the institution specified in paragraph 1, item 1 of this Article;
4) Give opinion on the procedure for dismissing director and members of the managing board in the institutions specified in paragraph 1, items 1 and 2 of this Article.
5) Provide a preliminary approval for the appointment of the director of the institution specified in paragraph 1, item 2 of this Article.
In the institutions for pupils and students which were established by the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit, the National Council shall:
1) Put forward one member - the founder's representative - and give opinion on other candidates running for managing board members of institutions for pupils, whose seat is in the territory of the local self-government unit where the language of a national minority is in official use. If more than one national minority language is in official use in the local self-government unit, the interested National Councils shall propose a joint candidate for membership on the managing board;
2) Give opinion on candidates running for members of the managing boards in institutions for students, whose seat is in the territory of the local self-government unit where a national minority language is in official use;
3) Give opinion on the procedure for the election of director of institutions for pupils and students, whose seat is in the territory of the local self-government unit where a national minority language is in official use;
4) Give opinion on the procedure for dismissing director and managing board members as referred to in paragraph 2, items 1 through 3 of this Article.
The National Council of a national minority, whose language is not officially used in any of the local self-government units, shall enjoy the rights specified in paragraph 2, items 1 through 4 of this Article in the local self-government unit where members of the National Minority represented by it account for 1% of the total population according to the latest census.
In higher education institutions, established by the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit, the National Council shall give opinion on the proposed candidates running for members of administration and managing bodies in a higher education institution, where teaching is done entirely or partially in a national minority language.
Article 13
The National Council shall:
1) Put forward before the National Education Council general platforms for pre-school syllabi, primary and high school syllabi as well as basic programs of instruction, covering contents which express singularity of a national minority, especially in history, music and art;
2) Put forward before the National Education Council primary and high school syllabi for the national minority language and/or its dialect together with elements of the national culture;
3) Give opinion to the National Education Council with regard to syllabi for Serbian as a second language;
4) Propose to the Minister of Education measures and an education program for pupils in pupils' institutions which refer to the affirmation of multiculturalism and tolerance among ethnic communities;
5) Give opinion on the school syllabi of institutions which have been defined as particularly important for the national minority.
Article 14
When the education work is done in a national minority language, the National Education Council shall propose that the competent Minister of Education approve the use of textbooks and teaching materials whose content expresses singularities of the national minority, with the previous consent of the National Council.
Acting on the National Council's proposal, Minister for Education shall give approval for the use of national or foreign textbooks in a national minority language in the education work.
Other Competences in the Field of Education
Article 15
In accordance with the law, the National Council shall:
1) Propose at least one candidate for the joint electoral list of candidates for the election of the National Education Council members;
2) Give opinion on the procedure for the adoption of a normative act regulating the network of pre-school institutions and primary schools in the local self-government unit where the national minority language is used officially or in the education work;
3) Determine which educational institutions are of particular interest in education of the national minority; where the total number of institutions exceeds the number of four, not more than a half of the overall number of institutions performing the education work in the national minority language may be pronounced as institutions with special importance; if there are fewer than four institutions of such kind, then one of the institutions, performing the education work exclusively in the national minority language or alongside with other languages, may be considered to have special importance; in the case of a national minority whose language is not used in teaching, the rules stated in this item shall be applied accordingly to the institutions where language or spoken dialect, with elements of the minority culture, is taught.
4) Give opinion to the Minister of Education in the process of establishing the network of high schools and institutions for pupils and students;
5) Give opinion to the Minister of Education in the process of giving consent to a school functioning outside the school's seat, where teaching is done in the national minority language;
6) Recommend to the founder, i.e. the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit that the school branch where teaching is done in the national minority language should become independent;
7) Give opinion in the procedure for determining the number of pupils to be enrolled in high school, as well as on the procedure for giving consent to the number of pupils who will acquire vocational training, prequalification, further qualification and specialization;
8) Give opinion to the Minister of Education regarding the procedure for giving consent to the opening of a class for fewer than 15 students in which the national minority language is used;
9) Give opinion to the institutions for pupils and students standard on the procedure for allocating places in those institutions
10) Give opinion in the procedure for the distribution of the budgetary funds of the Republic, autonomous province and local self-government unit, which are allocated through open competition to institutions and associations in the field of education;
11) Set aside scholarships out of its own resources and through its regulations determine the criteria and procedure as to their granting, and proced with their allocation;
12) Nominate its representative at the National Education Council who shall participate in its operation with no decision making power, when teaching within the education system is done in the national minority language, and when the National Education Council considers issues which are important for education of the national minority;
13) Nominate its representative at the National Council for Higher Education who shall be a full-fledged member of this Council when teaching in higher education is done in the national minority language;
14) Perform other activities in this field envisaged by the law or other regulations.
3. Competences in the Field of Culture
Article 16
The National Council may, in accordance with the law, establish cultural institutions for the purpose of preservation, improvement and development of a minority's cultural specificity and for the preservation of the national minority identity and it may exercise the rights and obligations of the founder.
The institutions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be established by the National Council itself or in co-operation with the Republic, autonomous province, local self-government unit or other legal personality in accordance with the law.
The Republic, autonomous province and local self-government unit as founders of the institutions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may delegate their right of establishment, totally or to a degree, to the National Council.
Participation in Managing the Institution
Article 17
In cultural institutions established by the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit and which were declared by the National Council to be of particular importance for the preservation of the national minority identity, the National Council shall:
1) Appoint one member for the institution's managing board;
2) Give opinion on the proposed members of the institution's managing board;
3) Give opinion in the procedure for the election of the institution's director.
If several National Councils decide that an institution has particular importance in the field of culture in preserving, improving and developing specificity and national identity of a national minority, the National Councils in question shall each appoint their member to the managing board referred to in paragraph 1, item 1 of this Article.
Other Competences in the Field of Culture
Article 18
The National Council shall:
1) Determine which institutions and events in the field of culture bear special importance in preserving, improving and developing specificity and national identity of a particular national minority;
2) Create a national minority's cultural development strategy;
3) Determine which movable and immovable cultural goods are of particular importance for a national minority;
4) Institute procedure before the competent body or institution for defining the status of movable and immovable cultural goods protected by the law and having particular importance for a national minority;
5) Suggest taking measures for the prevention, reparation and reconstruction of the cultural goods referred to in paragraph 1, item 4 of this Article;
6) Give opinions and recommendations regarding space planning and the design of urban development plans in the local self-government unit where cultural goods referred to in paragraph 1, item 3 of this Article are situated;
7) Suggest that the implementation of space and urban development plans be stalled if these are considered detrimental to cultural goods referred to in paragraph 1, item 3 of this Article;
8) Give the preliminary opinion to the competent body in the procedure of issuing a licence to dislocate the immovable cultural goods referred to in paragraph 1, item 3 of this Article to another site;
9) Give opinion on the establishment or closing procedure for libraries or their organisational units, containing collections of books in a national minority language;
10) Sumbit the proposal for allocation of resources through open competition from the budget of the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government units to national minority institutions, events and associations in the field of culture;
11) Propose at least one candidate for a joint list of candidates in the elections for the National Council for Culture;
12) Nominate its representative in the National Council for Culture, who shall participate in its work without the power of decision making when issues important for the national minority culture are discussed;
13) Rule on other matters entrusted to it by law, normative act of the autonomous province or local self-government unit.
4. Competences in the Field of Mass Media
Article 19
The National Council itself or in co-operation with another legal person may establish in line with law institutions and business organisations for the purpose of exercising the newspaper-publishing and radio-television broadcasting activities, printing and reproducing of the recorded media, and shall have the rights and obligations of a founder.
The Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit as founders of businesses organisations and institutions in the field of public information which entirely or predominantly communicate information in a national minority language may, in agreement with the National Council, delegate their right of establishment, totally or to a degree, to the National Council.
Participation in Managing the Institutions
Article 20
The National Council shall:
1) Give opinion on the nomination procedure for members of the managing board, program board and director general of the Radio Television of Serbia, if this institution broadcasts programs in a national minority language;
2) Give opinion on the nomination procedure for members of the managing board, program board and director general of the Radio Television of Vojvodina, if this institution broadcasts program in a national minority language;
3) Set criteria for the election of editor-in-chief of the program which is broadcast in a national minority language in the public service institution;
4) Propose that the Broadcasting Agency managing board appoint editor-in-chief of the programme broadcast in a national minority language from among the candidates who have applied and fulfilled the competition criteria;
5) Give opinion on candidates for editor-in-chief of programs broadcast in national minority languages in the Broadcasting Agency where editor-in-chief is appointed for more than one program broadcast in national minority languages.
Other Competences in the Field of Mass Media
Article 21
The National Council shall:
1) Adopt a strategy for the improvement of information broadcast in a national minority language in accordance with the strategy of the Republic of Serbia ;
2) Give suggestions to the Republic Broadcasting Agency in designing the Broadcasting Development Strategy;
3) Give a suggestion regarding distribution of resources which are through public competition allocated from the budget of the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit to legal or natural persons performing broadcasting activities in a national minority language;
4) Consider reports of Managing and Program Boards of Serbia's and Vojvodina's Broadcasting Agencies and give suggestions and recommendations regarding programmes broadcast in a national minority language;
5) Give opinion and proposals to the Republic Broadcasting Agency Council regarding communication of information in a national minority language;
6) Appoint its representative in the Republic Broadcasting Agency Council who shall participate in its work without decision making power when issues regarding information in a national minority language are being discussed;
7) Perform other activities in this field which are defined by law and other regulations.
5. Competences in the Official Use of Language and Script
Article 22
The National Council shall:
1) Determine traditional names of local self-government units, settlements and other geographical terms in the national minority language if this language is in official use in the territory of the local self-government unit or settlements. The names determined by the National Council shall become officially used terms alongside with Serbian names and shall be published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" or in the "Official Gazette of the AP of Vojvodina" for National Councils located in the AP Vojvodina;
2) Propose to the competent body to write out names of local self-government units, settlements and other geographical terms in the national minority language;
3) Propose the establishment of a national minority language and script as an official language and script in a local self-government unit;
4) Propose the alteration of names of streets, squares, city blocks, hamlets and other parts of settlements, as well as names of institutions of special importance for a national minority;
5) Give opinion on the procedure for determining names of streets, squares, city blocks, hamlets and other parts of settlements if a national minority language is officially used in the territory of a local self-government unit or a setlement;
6) Propose to the competent body to supervise the official use of a national minority language;
7) Propose to the competent bodies measures and activities for the promotion of translation of regulations into the official languages of national minorities;
8) Take measures and activities for the improvement of the official use of national minority language and script;
9) Rule on other pertinent questions entrusted to it by law or a normative act of the autonomous province or local self-government unit.
Article 23
Separate normative acts as referred to in Articles 12 through 15, 17, 18 and 20 through 22 of the this Law, which were adopted without the appropriate proposal or opinion of the National Council, shall be considered unlawful and/or null and void.
If, despite a duly submitted application of the competent body, the National Council fails to submit a proposal or opinion within 30 days, the normative act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be adopted without these.
7. Delegating the Right of Establishment
Article 24
On the initiative of the National Council, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Assembly of the autonomous province or local self-government units shall, fully or partially, delegate the right of establishment relating to:
1) Educational institutions where classes are held exclusively in a national minority language;
2) Cultural institutions whose main activity includes the preservation and development of national minority culture;
3) Institutions which broadcast public information exclusively in a national minority language.
At the initiative of the National Council, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Assembly of the autonomous province or local self-government units may delegate, fully or partially, their rights of establishment relating to institutions which have not been covered by items 1 through 3, paragraph 1 of this Article, where these are of particular importance for the national minority.
The bodies specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall conclude with the National Council an agreement on delegation of the right of establishment, fully or partially (hereinafter: the Agreement).
The Agreement shall set forth the mutual rights and obligations pertaining to the bodies referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and to the National Council.
The Agreement shall set forth the rights of management which are to be delegated, as well as the annual amount of resources allocated from the budget of the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit for the purpose of financing the institution's operations.
In terms of budgetary funds, the resources of the institutions whose right of establishment is delegated fully or to some extent cannot be more unfavourable in comparison with other institutions whose right of establishment is not delegated to the National Council.
IV RELATION WITH STATE BODIES AND BODIES OF THE AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS
Article 25
The National Council may submit its proposals, initiatives and opinions regarding the issues under its jurisdiction before the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and other state bodies and special organisations.
Before considering and deciding about the issues in the field referred to in Article 2 of this Law, the bodies in paragraph 1 of this Article shall seek the National Councils' opinion.
The procedure for obtaining opinion shall be regulated by the rules of procedure of the bodies specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The National Council may launch an initiative with the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the abrogation and/or nullification of regulations issued by ministries and separate organisations if the former are not in compliance with the provisions of this Law and other normative acts pertaining to national minorities.
Relation with Bodies of the Autonomous Province and Local self-government Units
Article 26
National Councils submit proposals, initiatives and opinions to the bodies of the autonomous province and local self-government units regarding issues pertaining to national minority status and preservation of the specificities of national minorities.
Bodies of the autonomous province and those of the local self-government units shall be obliged to consider the National Councils' proposals, initiatives and opinions and shall take steps accordingly.
In proceeding with the enactment of general documents in the field referred to in Article 2 of this Law, bodies of the autonomous province and those of the local self-government units shall seek opinion from the National Councils.
The procedure for obtaining opinion shall be regulated by the rules of procedure of the bodies specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
V INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CO-OPERATION
Article 27
The National Council shall cooperate, in accordance with law, with international and regional organisations, state bodies, the country's organisations and institutions, as well as with the national councils or similar national minorities' bodies in other countries.
The National Council representatives shall participate in negotiations or be consulted as part of negotiations the aim of which is the conclusion of bilateral agreements with home countries, especially when national minority rights are discussed.
Representatives of the National Councils shall participate in the work of mixed inter-governmental bodies whose aim is supervision of the implementation of bilateral inter-governmental agreements on the protection of a specific national minority's rights.
Article 28
Representatives of national minorities, via the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Serbia, shall take part in the conclusion of and/or accession to international agreements regarding the status of national minorities and preservation of their rights.
VI ELECTION OF NATIONAL COUNCILS
Article 29
National Councils may be elected in direct elections or through an Electoral Assembly.
National minorities shall individually choose to which of the two aforementioned ways they shall give priority.
Direct elections for National Councils shall be held if until the day of calling of the elections more than 50% of the total population of the national minority according to the most recent census, reduced by 20%, is entered into the special electoral register the national minority.
Principles of Electing National Councils
Article 30
The elections for National Councils shall be based on the principles of free choice, equality of voting rights, periodicity of elections and secrecy of ballot.
The elections shall be especially based on voluntariness, proportionality and democracy.
Article 31
The right to vote of national minorities' members in electing National Councils implies the rights of a national minority member to: elect National Council members; be elected as National Council member; put forward candidates for membership in the National Council; be informed on the National Councils elections, candidates for their membership and their programmes; he/she shall be put on a special electoral register of a national minority; vote for the election of a National Council and have right to protection of voting rights regarding the election of the National Council.
Article 32
A national minority member shall acquire the right to elect members of National Council once he has fulfilled the general requirements relating to the active right to vote set forth by the Constitution and law.
A special requirement for acquiring the active right to vote in direct elections for members of National Council shall be registration, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, in a special electoral register of a national minority.
A special requirement for acquiring the active right to vote in elections for the National Minority Council through Electoral Assembly shall be the voter's status, which is obtained according to the provisions of this Law.
Article 33
National Council member may be elected from among the national minority members who, besides the requirements specified in Article 32 of this Law, do not hold an official post of judge, prosecutor or a Constitutional Court judge.
Article 34
Voting for the election of members of the National Council shall be organised only at the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 35
The decision to call the National Council elections shall be made by the Minister for Human and National Minority Rights (hereinafter: the Minister).
The decision about the National Council election shall be adopted not earlier than 120, and not later than 90 days prior to the expiry of the National Council's term of office.
The decision to call the elections shall consist of indication of: the number of members of the National Council being elected; provisions determining the beginning of deadlines regarding electoral activities and the election day.
The Decision on Calling the Elections shall be published in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia ".
Article 36
The elections for the members of all National Councils shall be held simultaneously.
The elections must be finished at latest 15 days before the expiry of the term to which members of the current National Council's composition were elected.
Article 37
All documents regarding the National Council elections, as well as their court certified copies shall be exempt from fees.
Financial means for the implementation of the National Council elections shall be provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 38
All activities regarding the organisation and carrying out of the elections of National Councils shall be undertaken by the Ministry and bodies in charge of implementation of the elections in accordance with this Law.
Obligations of Public Information Services Relating to Elections of National Councils
Article 39
The public information services shall be obliged to monitor the electoral activities and report on the elections of National Councils.
Laws regulating public information on the electoral procedure shall be also applicable to public information regarding the elections of National Councils.
Dissolution of the National Council and the Provisional Governance Body
Article 40
The Ministry shall dissolve a National Council if:
1) The National Council is not convened for more than six months;
2) President of the National Council is not elected within 60 days upon the Council's establishment or the end of former President's term of office;
3) It fails to pass the Statute within the deadline stipulated under this Law.
The Ministry Decision regarding the dissolution of the National Council shall be final and administrative proceedings may be initiated against it.
Until the constitution of the new composition of the National Council, all current and urgent matters under the National Council's jurisdiction and scope of work shall be executed by the provisional body of the National Council, which consists of a president and four members.
The Provisional Body shall be established by the Ministry Decision and shall consist of the National Council members, bearing in mind the extent to which the electoral lists, from which National Council members have been chosen, are represented.
The National Council Members' Term of Office and the Expiry of the National Council Membership
Article 41
The National Council members shall be elected to a four-year term of office and may be re-elected to the same position.
Membership of a National Council member shall cease before the expiry of the term of office to which he has been elected, in one of the following ways:
1) By handing in the resignation;
2) By starting a job or assuming a position that is incompatible with National Council membership;
3) By losing one of the universal requirements for the acquisition of the active right to vote;
4) If he does not take part in a National Council's work for more than a year with no sound reason;
5) In case of death;
6) If his residence at the territory of the Republic of Serbia expires;
7) If, according to the final decision of the competent body, he has been erased from a special electoral register of members of a national minority, in case the National Council was elected directly;
8) If he has been sentenced by the final verdict for minimum of six months imprisonment
At its first session, following the reception of the notification explaining the reason for the expiry of National Council membership, the National Council shall pronounce the day when the National Council membership ceases.
Once the National Council member's mandate has expired, his seat in the National Council shall be taken by the candidate on the electoral list, which included the member whose mandate has expired, and shall be appointed by the electoral list nominator.
Convention of the First Session of the National Council
Article 42
The Minister shall convene a constitutive session of the National Councils within 30 days upon the announcement of the final election.
Appropriate Implementation of other Laws
Article 43
Provisions of the Law on the Election of Members of Parliament, Law on General Administrative Procedure and Code of Administrative Proceedings shall appropriately apply to the National Council elections and matters which are not regulated by this Law.
2. Direct Elections of Members of National Councils
Article 44
The Ministry shall create a special electoral register of national minorities which have formed their National Councils by the time of coming into force of this Law.
If a national minority has not set up its National Council by the coming into force of this Law, the procedure set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article may be carried out if within 30 days as of coming into force of this Law the Ministry receives a request from the national minority member or its organisation on condition that the request has been backed up with court certified signatures of at least 5% of the total population of the national minority according to the most recent census. The Ministry shall issue a Decision on the fulfilment of conditions stated in this paragraph.
If a national minority decides to set up the national council after the expiration of the deadline specified in paragraph 2. of this Article , in order to start the establishment of the special voters list , it shall be necessary that before the next following election the Ministry receives a request from the national minority member or its organisation on condition that the request has been backed up with court certified signatures of at least 5% of the total population of the national minority according to the most recent census. The Ministry shall pass a Decision on the fulfilment of conditions stated in this paragraph.
The Ministry Decision from paragraph 2 of this Article is final and administrative proceedings may be initiated against it.
Article 45
The Ministry shall inform through mass media all persons belonging to national minorities with voters' rights specified in Article 44 paragraph 1 and 2 that the establishment of the special voters' registry has started.
Every citizen with voter's right belonging to national minority specified in Article 44, paragraph 1, 2 and 3 of this Law may request in writing on the special form to be enrolled on the special voters' list of the respective national minority within 15 days from the expiration of the deadline set in the paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 46
The Ministry shall temporarily conclude the first special voter's list 120 days upon the announcement that the establishment of the special voters list has started and shall determine the total number of voters on special voter's list of a national minority..
If the Ministry decides based on the determined number of voters on the special electoral register of a national minority that the conditions set forth in Article 29 of this Law regarding direct elections for a National Council are met, the Ministry shall, within 15 days upon the expiration of the deadline set in the paragraph 1 of this article, call the elections in accordance with the Article 35 of this Law.
General Rules pertaining to the Special Electoral Register of National Minorities
Article 47
The special electoral register is a public document in which record on members of national minorities who have the right to vote is kept.
Members of national minorities shall be entered in the special electoral register on a voluntary basis.
A separate electoral register shall be kept for each national minority.
A member of national minority may be entered in only one special electoral register.
Article 48
The special electoral register shall be kept ex officio.
The special electoral register shall be singular, unchangeable and regularly updated and it shall be specially updated within 15 days upon the adoption of the decision on calling the elections.
Article 49
Information from the special electoral register shall be under special protection.
Any form of using information, except for the purpose of the National Council elections and its use in order to exercise other minority rights if prescribed by the law or regulation of the Autonomous Province, shall be forbidden and punishable by law.
Article 50
The special electoral register contains: registration number, name, personal identification number, sex, national affiliation, year of birth, place of residence (street and house number, village, hamlet, built-up area) and space for comments.
Article 51
The special electoral register in the electronic form shall be kept by the Ministry.
Special electoral registers in local self-government units shall be kept electronically by the municipal or town authorities, which shall be entrusted with this job.
The special electoral register shall be concluded by the Ministry decision not later than 15 days prior to elections.
Article 52
National minority members shall be entered in the special electoral register upon the fulfilment of the general conditions prescribed by the law.
Every citizen, member of a national minority who has the right to vote, may submit a written request on a special form to be entered in a special electoral register.
A voter shall submit a request to be entered in a special electoral register to the local self-government unit authority according to his place of residence; the request shall be hand-written and signed on a special form issued by the Ministry.
Persons who have been deprived of business capacity by a lawful decision cannot be entered in the special electoral register. If these persons' names have been entered in the electoral register, they shall be deleted, and re-entered in the electoral register once they reclaim working ability by a lawful decision.
Any correction or change in the special electoral register may be administered only at the voter's personal request.
Article 53
The request to be deleted from the special electoral register shall be submitted by the voter to the local self-government unit authority according to his place of residence; the request shall be hand-written and signed on a special form issued by the Ministry.
The voter may be deleted from the special electoral register in case he has lost the right to vote due to failure to meet one of the general requirements set forth by the law for the acquisition of electoral right, at the request of the body authorised for the keeping of the special electoral register and with evidence provided from official registries.
The bodies which keep public records on citizens are obliged to provide the bodies authorised for the keeping of the electoral registers with the information that may affect the accuracy and up-to-datedness of the electoral registers.
Article 54
The special electoral register and information entered in it shall be kept in both Serbian and the language and script of the national minority whose register is kept.
Article 55
The Ministry shall define the way of keeping the electoral register and other issues necessary for a full, accurate and up-to-date keeping of electoral registers.
Article 56
If the administration of the local self-government unit, which is in charge of keeping the electoral register, refuses to enter a voter in the special electoral register or delete his name from it in the registration or deletion procedure, the voter has the right to file a complaint with the Ministry. The Ministry Decision is final and administrative proceedings may be initiated against it.
The Minsitry shall decide on the complaint within the 15 days.
Article 57
Upon the conclusion of the special electoral register, entries, deletions, changes, amendments and corrections may be administered only based on court decisions, in the administrative proceedings, at least 10 days before the day when the elections have been scheduled.
Article 58
Special electoral registers shall be regularly updated during the mandate of all the elected National Councils, regardless of the type of elections. The members of the national minorities which have elected their Councils may require from the competent body to be entered in the special electoral register or deleted from it.
Before calling the next elections, the Ministry is obliged to determine which national minorities have met the requirement set for the conduct of direct elections.
Article 59
The Ministry shall carry out supervision over the application of provisions regarding the keeping of special electoral registers.
Should the Ministry determine that a special electoral register is not kept according to the law and provisions stemming from the law, it shall order the competent body to correct any spotted irregularities.
Bodies in Charge of Conducting the Elections
Article 60
Bodies for the election of National Councils are: Central Electoral Commission (hereinafter: the NEC), Electoral Commission (hereinafter: the CEC) and polling boards.
The Ministry shall provide conditions for conducting the elections.
Composition of the Central Electoral Commission
Article 61
The CEC shall consist of members of permanent and expanded composition.
The permanent composition of the CEC shall comprise three members appointed by the Ministry. Only persons holding a degree in Law may be members of the permanent composition.
The expanded composition of the CEC shall consist of the representatives of the nominators of electoral lists. Two or more nominators of electoral lists may agree to have a joint representative in the expanded composition of the CEC.
Members of the expanded CEC composition shall participate in the work and decision making according to law.
Members of the permanent CEC composition have deputies, elected as set forth in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Representative of the Republic Institute for Statistics shall participate in the work of the CEC but with no right to make decisions.
Members of the permanent CEC composition shall elect their President and Secretary from among themselves.
Competencies of the Central Electoral Commission
Article 62
The CEC shall as part of its competences:
1) Ensure that the elections are conducted according to law;
2) Make technical preparations for the elections;
3) Monitor the application of this Law and provide opinion on its application regarding direct election of members to National Councils;
4) Set unique standards regarding electoral material;
5) Prescribe application forms and rules for conducting electoral activities set forth by this Law;
6) Determine constituencies covering the territory of one or more neighbouring local self-government units and publish them in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia";
7) Determine the number and address of polling stations and publish them in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia" not later than 20 days prior to the day scheduled for the elections;
8) Appoint president, members and deputies of the permanent composition of the EEC and polling boards;
9) Determine the number of ballot papers at polling stations, have them certified and submit them in the form of report to the EEC's along with the certified excerpt from the electoral register;
10) Determine whether the electoral list has been submitted in accordance with this Law and proclaim the electoral list as such;
11) Make a decision on the proclamation of the general electoral list;
12) Determine ways of storing and handling of electoral material;
13) Determine and announce the election results;
14) Determine the number of seats belonging to each electoral list;
15) Submit a report to the Ministry for Human and National Minority Rights and inform the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on the conducted elections;
16) Forward information to the bodies in charge of collecting and processing statistical data;
17) Perform other jobs envisaged by this Law.
The CEC shall adopt its rules of procedure and the rules of procedure of EEC's and polling boards.
The CEC shall be obliged to provide the participants of the elections with forms specified in items 4 and 5 of this Article within five days from the scheduling of the elections.
Composition of Electoral Constituency Commission
Article 63
The EEC shall consist of a president and two members appointed by the CEC at the proposal of electoral list nominators.
President and members of the EEC shall have deputies appointed in the same manner as members.
Responsibility of the Electoral Constituency Commission
Article 64
The EEC shall receive electoral material of the CEC and deliver it to polling boards.
The EEC shall receive electoral material from polling boards at polling stations and deliver it to the CEC.
The record of the hand-over of electoral material shall be made.
The EEC shall perform other duties prescribed by the CEC's acts.
Article 65
Polling board has a president, members of permanent composition and members of expanded composition.
The polling board permanent composition shall consist of: president and no fewer than two members.
The expanded composition of the polling board shall consist of one proxy of each electoral list nominator. Two or more electoral list nominators may appoint a joint proxy.
President and members of the polling board permanent composition shall have their deputies.
The CEC shall form the polling board and appoint the president, permanent members and their deputies from among the persons registered in a special electoral register.
Article 66
A polling board shall directly conduct balloting at the polling station, ensure the regularity and secrecy of ballot, establish voting results at the polling station and perform other obligations stipulated by this Law.
A polling board shall ensure order at the polling station during balloting.
The CEC shall determine more specific rules on the work of polling boards.
Special Polling Stations
Article 67
Voting for National Councils shall take place at polling stations established by the CEC.
Establishing of Polling Stations
Article 68
The CEC shall establish polling stations for the elections for National Councils taking into account the number of members of national minorities who reside in the territory the polling station is being established at and are registered in the electoral register.
The polling station where the elections for the members of National Councils will take place shall be established if no fewer than 100 and no more than 25,000 voters are registered in a special electoral register at the territory the polling station is being formed at.
List of Polling Stations
Article 69
The list of polling stations where the elections for National Councils take place shall be published in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia".
Arrangement of Polling Stations
Article 70
Rules pertaining to the arrangement of polling stations shall be determined by the CEC.
Right of Nomination
Article 71
Under conditions stipulated by this Law, electoral lists may be nominated by a group of voters registered in a special electoral register of a particular national minority and/or, organizations, citizens associations as well as political organisations of national minorities (hereinafter: nominator).
The electoral list must be supported by the signatures of at least 1% and no fewer than 50 voters registered in a special electoral register of a particular national minority.
An organisation, association or political organisation of a national minority shall be considered as such if it has nation prefix in its name or is by its statute defined as organization, association or political organisation which gather or act in the interest of persons belonging to national minorities.
Supporting signatures have to be validated in accordance with this Law
The nomination referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be submitted only by a person having the authorization from the electoral list nominator.
Electoral List - Structure
Article 72
The number of candidates in the electoral list shall correspond to the number of members of the National Council that are being elected and this number shall not exceed five.
The electoral list holder and the order of candidates in the list shall be determined by the nominator.
The electoral list shall include no less than 30% of candidates of the less represented gender in the list and every third place in the list shall be reserved for the less represented gender.
If the electoral list does not meet requirements specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article, it shall be deemed deficient for the proclamation and the electoral list nominator shall be called to remove the deficiencies in line with this Law.
If the electoral list nominator does not remove deficiencies referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the CEC shall, in accordance with this Law, reject the proclamation of the electoral list.
Withdrawal of the Electoral List
Article 73
The electoral list nominator may withdraw the list at latest until the day the general electoral list has been determined.
Once the electoral list has been withdrawn, the representative of the electoral list nominator shall cease to be member in all electoral bodies and all rights stemming from such membership in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall be denied.
Title, Determination and Pproclamation of the Electoral List
Article 74
The electoral list shall bear the title determined by the electoral list nominator.
The title of the electoral list may include the full name of a person, association or organisation of a national minority from paragraph 3 of Article 71 that the nominator determines as well as the name of the electoral list holder.
Form for Supporting Electoral Lists
Article 75
The CEC shall provide for the format and content of the form for the voters' signatures and shall make such form available to participants in the elections within five days from the announcement of the elections.
A voter may support with his/her signature the electoral list of only one nominator. Each signature from paragraph 1 of this Article must be certified in a municipal court, municipal administration or local community administration.
Proceeding with Electoral Lists
Article 76
The electoral list shall be delivered to the CEC at latest 15 days prior to the election day.
The electoral list shall be delivered to the CEC together with the following documents:
1) Certificate of the registration in a special electoral register of a national minority for each candidate in the electoral list stating his full name, date of birth, occupation and the personal identification number;
2) Written statement of a candidate expressing his/her acceptance of candidacy;
3) Evidence of residence for each candidate;
4) Written consent of the list holder;
5) Authorization from the Ministry for persons nominating the electoral list to collect signatures;
6) Certified signatures of voters supporting the electoral list, in a special form.
Electoral List Proclamation
Article 77
The CEC shall proclaim the electoral list of nominators immediately upon the receipt of the electoral list and pertaining documents and at latest within 24 hours from the receipt of the electoral list.
The CEC shall without delay deliver to the nominator the decision on the electoral list proclamation specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Electoral List Deficiencies
Article 78
When the CEC determines that the electoral list has not been submitted in time, it shall issue a decision rejecting it.
If the CEC determines that the electoral list contains deficiencies which hinder the electoral list proclamation, it shall, within 24 hours upon the receipt of the electoral list, pass a conclusion instructing thereby the nominator of the electoral list to remove the deficiencies within 48 hours following the delivery of the conclusion. The conclusion delivered to the electoral list nominator shall elaborate on the manner of removing such deficiencies.
If the CEC determines that the electoral list contains deficiencies and/or that the deficiencies have not been removed, or have not been removed within the specified deadline, it shall issue a decision in the following 48 hours rejecting the electoral list proclamation.
General Electoral List
Article 79
The CEC shall determine the general electoral list separately for each national minority.
The general electoral list shall include all electoral lists for each national minority with personal names of all candidates, their year of birth, occupation and residence.
The order of electoral lists in the general electoral list shall be determined in accordance with the proclamation of electoral lists.
The CEC shall publish the general electoral list for each national minority in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia" at latest 10 days prior to the election day. The day when the general electoral list is published in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia" shall be deemed the day of its proclamation.
The person authorized by the electoral list nominator shall be entitled, within 48 hours from publishing of the general electoral list, to perform inspection of pertaining documents submitted with proclaimed electoral lists.
Article 80
Upon the conclusion of the special electoral register the CEC shall announce within 48 hours the total number of voters, in local self-government units and polling stations.
The CEC shall compile a valid excerpt from the special electoral register for each polling station.
Besides the information from Article 50 of this Law, the excerpt from the special electoral register shall contain the name of the body which compiled it, date of its compilation and the label of the polling station for which the excerpt has been made.
Article 81
Republic authorities, the bodies of the autonomous province and local self-government units, public institutions and other bodies shall be obliged to issue, at the voter's request, identification papers for the exercise of the right to vote without delay and not later than a day after the submission of the request.
Article 82
The competent state bodies and the body of the local self-government unit shall be obliged to grant the authorized representatives of the submitters of the approved electoral lists access to the special electoral register as well as to the official documentation based on which the body which is in charge of keeping the special electoral register makes entries, deletions, changes, amendments or corrections in the electoral register.
Inspection of documents is done on the premises of the bodies where the official documentation is stored.
Article 83
Acting on the petition made by the submitters of the approved electoral list, the Ministry shall be obliged to carry out supervision within 24 hours upon the reception of the petition.
The Ministry shall be obliged to forward a copy of the inspection log entry on the performed check and a copy of the legal instrument, which orders the authorized body to take certain measures and actions, to the submitter of the petition within 48 hours from the inspection day.
Voting
Article 84
A voter shall vote at the polling station where he is registered in a special electoral register excerpt.
Under exceptional circumstances, a voter may vote outside the polling station referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in the manner provided by the Law on Election of Deputies.
The method of voting outside the polling station as well as the number of voters who have so voted shall be recorded in the polling board record.
Informing Citizens on Voting
Article 85
Each voter shall receive at latest five days prior to the election day a notification indicating the day and time of elections, the number and address of the polling station and the number of the excerpt from a special electoral register he has been registered under.
The body responsible for keeping the electoral register shall deliver to voters the notification specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Voting Method
Article 86
A voter shall cast his ballot personally.
A voter shall vote only once during the elections.
Voting is secret.
Voting is done on certified ballot papers.
It is forbidden to display election campaign material at the polling station and 50 metres from the polling station.
If in the course of voting the rules specified in paragraphs 1 through 4 of this Article are violated, the polling board shall be dismissed and voting at such polling station shall be repeated.
The use of mobile phones and other communication devices is forbidden at the polling station.
The CEC shall determine more specific instructions on measures ensuring the secrecy of ballot.
Time of Voting at Polling Station
Article 87
Polling stations shall open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. The polling station must be constantly open during this period.
Voters present at the polling station at the moment of closing shall be allowed to vote.
Members of polling board and their deputies must be at the polling station in the course of voting.
Maintaining Order at Polling Stations
Article 88
If order is violated at the polling station, the polling board may interrupt voting until the order is restored. The reasons for and duration of the interruption shall be entered into the polling board record.
If voting is interrupted for longer than one hour, it shall be prolonged for as much time as the interruption lasted.
The number of voters present in a room where the elections take place shall correspond to the number of voting booths ensuring the secrecy of ballot.
Persons not having rights or obligations related to the conduct of the elections stipulated by this Law shall not be allowed to stay at the polling station.
Members of police force on duty may enter the polling station at the request of the polling board president only if the order and peace have been violated at the polling station.
If the provisions specified in paragraphs 1 through 5 of this Article are violated, an objection may be filed with the CEC which shall determine whether voting at such poling station should be repeated.
Language and Script of Electoral Material
Article 89
The entire electoral material and all documents shall be printed in two languages - in the Serbian language and Cyrillic script and in the language and script of the national minority whose National Council is being elected.
Ballot paper
Article 90
The ballot paper shall contain:
1) Ordinal number placed in front of the title of the electoral list;
2) Titles of electoral lists according to the order determined in the general electoral list with the personal name of the electoral list holder;
3) Indication that only one electoral list is voted for by circling the ordinal number in front of the title of the electoral list.
The CEC shall prepare and certify the ballot papers.
The CEC shall determine the number of ballot papers which must be equal to the number of voters registered in a special electoral register.
Ballot papers shall be printed at one location and on a paper protected with a watermark.
An electoral list nominator shall provide the CEC with the name of the person authorized to attend the printing, counting, and packing of ballot papers and their delivery to the bodies in charge of conducting the elections.
The CEC shall specify the form and appearance of ballot papers, the manner and control of their printing, as well as the delivery and handling of ballot papers.
The CEC shall specify the shape and dimensions of a ballot box. Ballot boxes must be made of transparent material.
The CEC shall be required to prepare the voting material in due time for each polling board, and especially the required number of ballot papers, the general electoral list, excerpt from a special electoral register and the polling board record form.
The hand-over of electoral material shall be done by the EEC at latest 48 hours prior to the election day.
In cooperation with the authorities of the local self-government unit, the EEC shall organize polling stations and prepare for each polling board the required number of ballot boxes with the material for their sealing and writing tool-kits.
On the election day, prior to voting, the polling board shall determine whether electoral material prepared for that polling station is complete and correct, whether the polling station is arranged so as to ensure secrecy of ballot and whether voting may commence, and shall so enter into its record.
The general electoral list of each national minority whose National Council is elected at the polling station, together with titles of electoral lists and names of candidates, must be visibly displayed at the polling station in the course of voting.
The CEC shall specify the content and form of the general electoral list as well as the manner of displaying it.
The representatives of electoral list nominators shall be entitled to perform inspection of electoral material. The inspection shall be performed on the premises of the CEC. The inspection of electoral material may be performed within five days after the election day.
Keeping Electoral Material
Article 91
Electoral material is kept for at least four years.
The CEC shall prescribe ways of inspecting and keeping the electoral material.
Voting
Article 92
The polling board shall check the ballot box in the presence of a voter who first comes to the polling station. Checking shall be done in order to determine whether the ballot box is sound, empty and adequate to ensure the safety and secrecy of the content of the ballot papers. The result of the control shall be entered into the control ballot paper which is then signed by polling board members and the voter who first came to the polling station.
A control ballot paper shall be inserted into the ballot box which is then sealed in the presence of the first voter, and so shall be entered into the Poling Board record.
Upon opening the ballot box, it shall be first determined whether the control ballot paper is inside. If there is no control ballot paper in the ballot box, the polling board shall be dismissed and a new one appointed and voting at such polling station shall be repeated.
The CEC shall prescribe the form of the control ballot paper and the manner of the ballot box sealing.
The Course of Voting
Article 93
A voter shall say to the polling board his personal name and hand in the notification on voting and shall prove his identity with an identity card or some other document.
A voter may not vote without having submitted evidence on his identity. Having determined the identity of the voter, a polling board president or member shall circle the ordinal number under which the voter is registered in the excerpt from a special electoral register and explain the manner of voting.
The voter shall sign the electoral register and take the ballot paper.
Each voter who voted and received electoral material shall have his index finger on the right hand marked with a special spray, as an indication that he has already voted. The mark on the index finger lasts no less than 24 hours.
Polling board members may not influence the decision of the voter in any way.
Polling board members are required to explain the manner of voting to the voter if he so demands.
Polling board members are required to take care that no one disturbs the voter while he fills in the ballot paper and that the secrecy of ballot is ensured.
On the election day no modifications may be performed in the excerpts from special electoral registers.
If, in the course of voting, provisions specified in paragraphs 5 through 8 of this Article are violated, the CEC shall dismiss the polling board, appoint a new one and arrange repeated elections at that polling station.
Manner of voting
Article 94
A voter may vote for one electoral list only. Voting is done by circling an ordinal number in front of the title of the electoral list.
A voter shall personally fold his ballot paper so that it shall not be visible who he has voted for and shall put it into the ballot box and leave the polling station.
Rules on the election of deputies shall apply to voting outside the polling station.
Establishing Election Results at Polling Station
Article 95
Upon concluding of voting, the polling board shall commence determining election results at the polling station.
The polling board shall determine the number of unused ballot papers and put them in a separate envelope, which is then sealed, and the number is entered into the record.
On the basis of the excerpt from a special electoral register the polling board shall determine the total number of voters who have voted.
Once the ballot box is opened and the control ballot paper is checked, valid ballot papers shall be separated from invalid ones and the number of invalid ballot papers is entered into the record.
An invalid ballot paper is an empty ballot paper, a ballot paper filled in such way that it cannot be established which electoral list received the vote, and a ballot paper on which more than one electoral list has been circled.
If the full name of the first candidate in the electoral list is circled or the title of the electoral list or part of the title is circled, or if both the ordinal number and the electoral list title and the full name of the first candidate are circled, such ballot paper shall be deemed valid.
If it is determined that the number of ballot papers in the ballot box exceeds the number of voters who have voted, the polling board shall be dismissed and a new one appointed, and voting at such polling station shall be repeated.
Upon having established the election results, the polling board shall enter into its record of work: the number of received ballot papers; number of unused ballot papers; number of invalid ballot papers; number of valid ballot papers; number of votes won by each of the electoral lists; number of voters according to the excerpt from a special electoral register and the number of voters who have voted.
The polling board record shall also include remarks and opinions of polling board members, of electoral list nominators, as well as all other facts relevant for voting.
The record of the polling board work shall be signed by all members of the polling board.
Polling Board Record
Article 96
The record of the polling board work shall be made on the prescribed form and printed in six copies.
The first copy of the record and determined electoral material shall be delivered to the CEC.
The second copy of the record shall be displayed at the polling station for the public.
The four remaining copies of the record shall be handed over immediately to representatives of nominators of electoral lists which have won the largest number of votes at such polling station and if the representative is not present, he may receive the copy of the record from the CEC within 12 hours upon conclusion of voting.
The remaining nominators shall be entitled, within 12 hours of delivery of the material from the polling station to the CEC, to obtain a certified photocopy of the polling board record from the CEC.
Delivery of Results from Polling Station
Article 97
Once the voting results have been determined, the polling board shall, without delay and at latest within 18 hours upon closing of polling stations, provide the EEC with: the record of work, the electoral register excerpt and, separately, the unused ballot papers and the used ballot papers; the invalid and, separately, the valid ballot papers as well as all remaining electoral material.
The EEC shall provide the CEC with electoral material from polling stations at its constituency at latest within 24 hours from closing of polling stations.
Within 72 hours from closing of polling stations, the CEC shall enter into the record: the total number of voters registered in a special electoral register of each national minority; number of voters who have voted at polling stations; total number of ballot papers received at polling stations; total number of unused ballot papers; total number of invalid ballot papers; total number of valid ballot papers; total number of votes won by each of the electoral lists.
The CEC shall determine the election results and make a special record thereof.
The CEC shall prescribe the content and format of the record form.
Distribution of Mandates per Electoral Lists and National Minorities
Article 98
Each electoral list shall receive the number of mandates proportional to the total number of votes won.
The CEC shall distribute mandates following D'Hondt formula.
Mandates shall be distributed dividing the total number of votes obtained by each electoral list for each National Council separately by numbers from 1 to the number corresponding to the total number of members of the National Council specified in Article 9 of this Law.
The quotients obtained in such a way shall be sorted by size, taking into account the number of the largest quotients that corresponds to the number of members of the National Council who are being elected.
If two or more electoral lists obtain the same quotient on the basis of which one mandate is to be assigned and there are no more unassigned mandates, the mandate shall be assigned to the list that has won a larger total number of votes.
Mandates belonging to a particular electoral list shall be assigned to the candidates from that list according to the order of their names in the list.
When an electoral list receives more mandates than it has nominated candidates for members of the National Council, the mandate is assigned to the electoral list having the next largest quotient.
Announcing Election Results
Article 99
The CEC shall publish in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia" the following data on overall election results for the National Council of each national minority:
1) The number of voters registered in a special electoral register;
2) Total number of voters who voted;
3) Number of received ballot papers;
4) Number of unused ballot papers;
5) Number of used ballot papers;
6) Number of invalid ballot papers;
7) Number of valid ballot papers;
8) Number of votes won by each of the electoral lists;
9) Number of seats in the National Council won by each of the electoral lists.
The CEC shall publish the election results within 96 hours upon the termination of voting.
During the period between the termination of voting and the announcement of election results, the CEC shall announce temporary data on election results in the media.
Election results shall be published in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia".
The CEC shall issue a certificate of election to a National Council member.
3. Election of Members of National Councils through Electoral Assembly
Article 100
If a national minority, in accordance with this Law, does not fulfill the conditions for the elections of the National Council through the direct election, the National Council shall be elected through the Electors' Assembly of national minority.
The procedure for establishing an Electoral Assembly shall be initiated by the Ministry through a Decision to call elections for the National Council that shall be taken within 15 days from determining the fact that voters expressed no interest for the direct election.
The Decision to call elections for the National Council shall state the date and place for holding the Electoral Assembly. The Decision to call elections for the National Council shall be published in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia".
Date and place of the Electoral Assembly meeting and public invitation to all Electors to submit in due time their complete written applications for participation in the Electoral Assembly shall be announced in the mass media.
Article 101
Entitled to be Electora shall be also a member of national minority who is nominated as Elector by an organisations or association of the respective national minority.
An organisation, association or political organisation that incorporates in its name a designation of a national minority, or whose statute designates itself as an organisation or association that gathers or acts in the interest of persons belonging to national minority, shall be considered as an organisation, association or political organisation that gathers or acts in the interest of members of national minority.
The signatures for the support of the Elector should be certified in accordance with this Law.
The proposal referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be submitted only by a person having the authorization from the electoral list nominator .
Article 102
Person entitled to be the Elector must submit:
1) Electoral Application containing a written statement that he is applying for the Electoral Assembly of national minority, and his personal data;
2) Certificate of suffrage;
3) Written statement on his national affiliation;
4) Evidence of permanent residence;
5) Forms filled and signed by 100 persons belonging to national minority,
A person entitled to become an elector acting for the organisation or association of national minority, in addition to conditions set in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall submit a decision on registration of the organisation or association and written statement on the decision of the organisation's assembly or national minority association that determines him as an elector of the national minority.
One member of national minority may, by way of filling and signing the form, support only one elector.
Structure and content of the Form for collecting the voters' signatures in support of electors shall be prescribed by the Ministry.
Only the candidates for electors who are granted authorization by the Ministry may collect the voters' signatures in their support.
Article 103
Written Applications for participation in the Electoral Assembly shall be submitted to the Ministry not later than 30 days prior to holding the Electoral Assembly. The Ministry shall forward written Invitations to Electoral Assembly to all Electors who have submitted the complete Applications.
The provisions of this Law which govern the procedure for electoral lists for direct elections of National Councils, shall apply accordingly to procedure for Electoral Applications.
Article 104
Electoral Assembly shall elect members of the National Council proportionally to the size of the national minority in accordance with Article 9 of this Law.
Term of office of the National Council convocation shall start with the date of its registration into the National Councils Register.
Article 105
Electoral Assembly may be held if more than one-half of the number of the Electors whose Electoral Applications have been confirmed are present.
By way of exception from paragraph 1 of this Article, the Electoral Assembly shall not be held unless attended by:
1) At least 20 Electors in case of national minorities whose number according to the most recent census is below 10,000 or is not specified;
2) At least 30 Electors in case of national minorities whose number according to the most recent census is over10,000 but below 20 000;
3) At least 45 Electors in case of national minorities whose number according to the most recent census is over 20,000 but below 50,000;
4) At least 60 Electors in case of national minorities whose number according to the most recent census is over 50,000 but below 100,000;
5) At least 100 Electors in case of national minorities whose number according to the most recent census is over 100,000.
Article 106
Until Chairman of the Electoral Assembly is elected, the work of the Electoral Assembly shall be chaired by the oldest Elector present.
Article 107
The Electoral Assembly shall begin its work by determining the list of attendance through a list of Electors provided by the Ministry.
Upon determining the number of attending Electors, the Electoral Assembly shall continue its work by electing the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Recording Secretary and members of the Electioral Commission.
Article 108
The Electoral Assembly shall make its decisions by public majority vote of the present Electors.
The Electoral Assembly shall elect members of the National Council by secret vote.
The Electoral Assembly may make other decisions also by secret vote if it so decides.
Article 109
The Electoral Assembly shall elect the National Council by applying the proportional system.
The list of candidates (hereinafter: the list) for members of the National Council may be proposed by one-quarter of the number of the Electors present.
The electoral list shall contain at least 30% seats reserved for the less represented sex with every third candidate listed from the top being the less represented gender.
One Elector can support only one list.
The list shall include not fewer than five candidates, and not more than the aggregate number of members of the Council. The sequence of candidates shall be determined by the person submitting the list.
The lists shall be pronounced by Chairman of the Electoral Assembly by determining their serial numbers and the list leaders.
The Electors shall take a secret vote on ballot papers prepared in advance on which they shall record the name of the list leader and/or the number of the list.
The seats shall be distributed according to the D'Hondt rule.
The seats shall be distributed by separately dividing the total number of votes that each list has won for the National Council by all numbers between number 1 and, inclusive of, the number that corresponds to the total number of members of the Council as stipulated under Article 9 of this Law.
Figures resulting from this are then arranged by size, taking into account as many largest quotients as the National Council has members.
If two or more electoral lists have identical quotients according to which one seat is distributed, and there are no undistributed seats left, the seat shall be allocated to the list that has won a greater aggregate number of votes.
The seats assigned to an electoral list shall be distributed among the candidates on that electoral list starting from the first name on the list and thereafter in strict sequence.
Where an electoral list is allocated a greater number of seats than the number of candidates nominatd for the National Council on that list, the remaining seats shall be allocated to the electoral list with the next largest quotient.
4. Election of New National Council Convocation
Article 110
After the first elections of National Councils, in accordance with this Law, the ensuing elections of National Councils shall be conducted directly or through Electoral Assemblies of national minorities.
The initiative for the election of the new National Council convocation shall be launched by President of the National Council not sooner than six and not later than three months prior to completion of the National Council's term of office.
If the President of the National Council fails to submit the initiative three months prior to completion of the term of the National Council at latest, the initiative for the election of the new National Council convocation shall be launched by the Ministry.
Article 111
Until Chairman of the Electoral Assembly is elected, the work of the Electoral Assembly shall be chaired by President of the National Council.
Where President of the National Council is prevented from serving this duty, the work of the Electoral Assembly shall be chaired by the oldest Elector.
VII FINANCING THE REGULAR WORK OF NATIONAL COUNCIL
Article 112
The National Council shall adopt its annual financial plan, financial report and final financial statement.
The annual financial plan of the National Council shall specify all income and expenses of the National Council for the calendar year.
The annual financial plan shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure and method stipulated in the Statute of the National Council.
Within 15 days of the day of adopting its annual financial plan or final financial statement, the National Council shall be obliged to send the copy of the annual financial plan or final financial account to the Ministry.
Article 113
Funds acquired in accordance with this Law may be used for financing the expenditures pertaining to:
1) Regular operations of the National Council,
2) Financing the work of the institutions, foundations, commercial companies and organisations founded or co-founded by the National Council, institutions, foundations, commercial companies and other organisations whose rights of establishment have been delegated to the National Council.
The regular operation expenditures include, in particular:
1) Financing or co-financing of programs and projects in the field of education, public information and official use of the language and script of a national minority;
2) Costs associated with renting and occupying of the National Council premises;
3) Wages, taxes and social security contributions for the National Council employees;
4) Fees and reimbursements for the work done on behalf of the National Council;
5) Travelling costs and allowances for business trips;
6) Supply of office equipment and stationery for the work of National Council;
Article 114
Sources for financing the work of national councils are secured from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and budget of local self-government units, donations and other revenues.
Article 115
The amount of funds from public sources to be provided for financing the operations of National Councils shall be determined for every year by the Law on the Budget of the Republic of Serbia and/or decisions on the budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the units of local self-government.
The funds provided under paragraph 1 of this Article to be provided in the budget of the Republic of Serbia, are distributed in the following way: 30% of the funds shall be distributed among all registered National Councils in the Republic of Serbia in equal shares, and the residual value (70%) shall be distributed among the registered National Councils in the Republic of Serbia proportionately to the number of members of a national minority represented by the National Council as well as to the aggregate number of institutions and their scope of work in the field of education, public information and official use of language and script.
Decision on the allocation of funds from the budget of the Republic of Serbia shall be made by the Ministry upon consideration of the proposals filed by the National Councils.
Funds provided in the budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina under paragraph 1 of this Article, are distributed pursuant to a budget decision enacted by the responsible Provincial authority among the National Councils seated in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
Funds provided for the budget of local self-government units under pragraph 1 of this Article, are distributed pursuant to a budget decision enacted by the responsible local self-government authority among the National Councils representing the national minorities whose members make up for at least 10% of the total population of the local self-government unit or whose language is officially used at the territory of the local self-government unit.
Financing of Work of Institutions whose Rights of Establishment Are delegated to National Councils
Article 116
The financing of work of the institutions or other organisations whose rights of establishment are fully or partially delegated to the National Council shall be effected on the basis of the same normative provisions and from the same sources as these institutiones were financed prior the transfer of the establisher's rights to the National Councils
Financial obligations of the previous founder towards the institutions or other organisations whose founder shall thereafter become the National Council shall be specified in the agreement on delegation of the right of establishment.
In addition to funds under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the National Council may provide supplementary funds for the operation and work of the institutions or other organisations whose right of establishment has been delegated to the National Council.
National Council Account, Mandatory Bookkeeping and Financial Control
Article 117
The National Council shall have an account.
The National Council shall keep accounting records of all income and expenses.
The bookkeeping shall be kept according to the origin, amount and structure of income and expenses in compliance with the accounting regulations.
The credit and debit bookkeeping records of the National Council is subject to annual audit in accordance with the accounting regulations, and may be subject to control by competent bodies.
The National Council is required to keep special records of its property.
Article 118
The Statute of the National Council shall specify a person responsible for financial operations, reporting and bookkeeping of the National Council.
Should the National Council fail to specify a responsible person in the Statute, the President of the National Council shall perform this function.
National Minorities Budgetary Fund
Article 119
National Councils shall participate in the procedure of allocation of resources from the National Minorities Budgetary Fund on the basis of public competition for projects and programs in the field of culture, education, media and the official use of language and script of national minorities.
The Ministry shall manage the National minorities Budgetary Fund.
Article 120
The Minister shall monitor the legality of work and documents of the National Councils in accordance with the Constitution and law.
The National Council is obliged to forward any requested information, files and documents to the Ministry that monitors the legality of work and documents of the National Councils within eight days upon the Ministry's request.
President of the National Council shall be responsible for the delivery of requested information, files and documents.
Article 121
The competent Ministry shall initiate a procedure before the Constitutional Court for the assessment of legality and consistence with the Constitution of a National Council's Statute, regulations or any other general document, if a document is not considered to be in accordance with the Constitution, law or other republic regulations.
The competent body of the territorial autonomy shall initiate the procedure prescribed in paragraph 1 of this Article if a document is considered not to be in accordance with the provincial regulations.
Article 122
The Ministry is obliged to stop the implementation of any document of the National Council which is considered not to be in agreement with the Constitution or law by issuing a Decision which shall come into force upon its publication in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia". The Ministry shall, within five days from publication of the decision, institute a procedure for the assessment of legality and consistence with the Constitution of the general document.
The Decision on stopping the implementation expires if the Ministry within five days from its publication fails to institute the procedure specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 123
A fine of from 10,000 to 30,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a person who:
1) Fails to enter voters' names into or remove them from the special electoral register or does so contrary to Article 47 of this Law;
2) Makes use of data entered in the special electoral registers of national minority members for purposes other than stipulated by this Law contrary to Article 49 of this Law;
Article 124
A fine of from 10,000 to 30,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a person who uses a bleeper, mobile phone or other telecommunications devices at a polling station contrary to Article 86, paragraph 7 of this Law.
Article 125
A fine of from 10,000 to 30,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a person who commits disorder at a polling station, causing the voting to be disrupted in accordance with Article 88 of this Law.
Article 126
A fine of from 10,000 to 30,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a legal or natural person who violates or abuses the right to use national symbols.
Article 127
A fine of from 500 to 50,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a responsible person at a National Council who:
1) Fails to proceed in accordance with Article, 6 parapraph 3 of this Law;
2) Contrary to Article 120, paragraph 2 of this Law within 8 days upon receiving a request fails to submit requested data, documents and statement to the Ministry which monitors the legality of work and general acts.
Article 128
A fine of from 50,000 to 200,000 RSD shall be imposed for violation against a National Council if:
1) Within 30 days from the day of adopting amendments to the Statute, it fails to inform the Ministry on the amendments and submit them together with the minutes from the session in which they were adopted;
2) Contrary to Article 120, paragraph 2 of this Law within 8 days upon receiving a request fails to submit requested data, documents and statement to the Ministry which monitors legality of work and general acts of the National Councils.
X TRANSITIONAL AND CONCLUDING PROVISIONS
Article 129
The Minister shall pass a decision for calling the election of national councils within 6 months after this Law enters into force.
From the day of issuing a call for the elections until the election day specified in paragraph 1 of this Article a period of time is required counting no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days.
Electoral Assembly shall be held within a period of time which can not be shorter than 60 days or longer than 90 days starting from the date of passing the decision specified in Article 100, paragraph 2.
The manner of conducting the elections shall be determined in accordance with this Law.
Article 130
It is binding on National Councils to enact new or harmonize their old Statutes and general acts with the provisions of this Law within three months from the date of their constitution.
Article 131
The provisions of this Law which refer to the right of National Councils to submit their proposals or opinions in the procedure of selection or appointment of members of the bodies established by the Republic of Serbia, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina or local self-government units shall be applicable as of the first next procedure of selection or appointment of members of these bodies.
Article 132
Permanent composition of the CEC shall be nominated by the Ministry, within 30 days of entering into force of this Law.
Article 133
Regulations under Articles 4, paragraph 4, Article 52, paragraph 3, 55 and Article 102, paragraph 4 of this Law shall be enacted by the Ministry within 30 days upon entering into force of this Law.
Article 134
The Executive Board of the Union of Jewish Municipalities of Serbia shall function as the National Council, President of the Union of Jewish Municipalities of Serbia being member of the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 135
If the National Council fails to determine the traditional names referred to in Article 22 of this Law, within three months from the day of coming into force of this Law, the names shall be determined by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, or, where the National Council is seated in the territory of the Autonomous Province, by the competent body of the Autonomous Province in co-operation with the local self-government units, national minority organisations and experts in the field of language, history and geography of that national minority.
The provisions under paragraph 1 of this Article do not pertain to National Councils that have determined the traditional names referred to in Article 22 of this Law prior to coming into force of this Law.
Article 136
For the purpose of certain elections, the Ministry may allow permanent residence, which is the pre-requisite for the exercise of an active or passive right to vote, to be replaced with temporary residence in case of persons who have come from Kosovo and Metohija.
Article 137
By entering into force of this Law all National Councils shall be elected and/or re-elected
If on the day of calling for election for The National Councils a National Council has not completed half of its mandate, its mandate shall be restored and shall continue the same way as mandates of National Councild that are being elected.
The National Councils which have been elected prior to entering into force of this Law, but whose term has expired, shall continue to work until the elections and/or constitution of the National Council according to provisions of this Law.
Article 138
On the day this Law enters into force, the following shall cease to be valid:
1) Article 24 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities ("Official Gazette of FRY" no. 11/2002);
2) Rules on the Method of Operation of Assemblies of Electors for the Election of National Minority Councils ("Official Gazette of FRY" no. 41/2002);
Article 139
This Law shall take effect on the eighth day following its publication in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia".