a minute agoBorder correction wipes Kosovo out of Serbia's Constitution
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Signing a legally binding document with Kosovo would also imply changing its Constitution, assessing recognition of political developments and judicial experts. Despite this, in the Government of Serbia, in the Office for Kosovo of this government, and in Serbia's Parliament, there is no information that someone is [...]
Despite this, in the Government of Serbia, in the Office for Kosovo of this government and in Serbia's Parliament, there is no information that anyone is handling this issue.
Serbia's Justice Ministry, through a written statement to Radio Free Europe, has said it deals exclusively with constitutional amendments linking with the judiciary.
The government of Serbia has told Radio Free Europe that no one is dealing with changing the Constitution regarding Kosovo, while the Office for Kosovo of the Government of Serbia has not responded at all.
Furthermore, in the official dictionary of Serbian officials, Kosovo is <x0 ... the southern Serbian province”, though, in fact, it is not nearly two decades old.
(Video from archive: Change of borders? Albanians and Serbs anxious)
The current Serbian Constitution says Kosovo is part of Serbia, meanwhile that the borders, after 1999, since Serbia's state institutions are no longer present on Kosovo territory, call them administrative boundaries. Any change would also mean changing Serbia's Constitution.
Gordana Cohum, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Council on Constitutional and legislative issues, says there is no knowledge that any institutions or professional team are dealing with the constitutional provisions for Kosovo.
This is not a topic in our local opinion, nor in our European opinion, nor in the partner countries where decisions are made, as are Moscow or Washington. The constitution and preambles everywhere and no one's subject to”, says Cohush.
However, Radio Free Europe's conversationaries estimate there will be a lot of work on the issue.
Bogoljub Milosavljevic, professor of Constitutional Law from Belgrade, says Kosovo must leave the Serbian Constitution if borders are established with Serbia.
“The setting of borders, in the sense of accepting Kosovo's state independence, could never be done without changing the Constitution. First, that part in which it says the Republic of Serbia has two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo in its composition. Even the preamble of the Constitution would have to undergo changes, considering that it creates specific obligations regarding Kosovo”, explains the Milosavljevic process.
In the Constitution of Serbia, 2006, Kosovo is mentioned in an explosive way three times. First in preamble, then in the articles on territorial organization, in which the position of autonomous provinces is defined. The preamble in which Kosovo is mentioned is not a binding part of the Constitution.
Whether this preamble should be changed or hidden entirely, there are different attitudes in expert opinion.
In the norms of the Serbian Constitution, Kosovo must be completely deleted, suggests Dusan Janjaq from the Forum for Ethnic Relations.
The word Kosovo is to be excluded from Serbia's laws and constitutional system. However, there are not many changes in the text itself of the 2006 Constitution”, Janjiq stressed.
Marking the borders with Kosovo, which Serbia's chairman Aleksandar Vuciq and his associates are talking about, as a possible solution, implies determining borders with Kosovo. Article 8 of Serbia's Constitution says Serbia's territory is <x0->unic and inseparable”, while the border is “inex2.
(Video from archive: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced opposition to changing borders)
Determining borders is not part of the Constitution. Borders are defined by international agreements and are precise with mixed commissions if there are no major disputes, Janzic explains.
When this is determined, when this agreement is confirmed, not only with the signatures of (Kosovo President Hashim) Thaci and (President of Serbia, Aleksandar) Vucic in the European Union, but also with verification through the United Nations General Council, it means that it will no longer be worth UN Resolution 1244. Then we must approach the demarcation process. The demarcation is the procedure, which is not defined with the Constitution, but which is defined with international norms, and rather is technical work for the governments of Kosovo and Serbia”, Janjic clarified.
Marking the border with Kosovo, whatever it means, is done through certain constitutional procedure, says Professor Bogoljub Milosavljevic. According to him, the two-thirds vote in the People's Assembly should be brought in and confirmed in the referendum.
Milosavljevic says that Chapter 35, in accession negotiations with the European Union, implies that all open issues between Kosovo and Serbia should be defined before entering the European Union.
Also, according to him, Serbia's accession for Kosovo to take its seat in the United Nations means that Kosovo's status as an independent state, which also means setting borders between them, is not disputed.
We could know all of this at the moment that we are able to see the so-called law enforcement act, what sort of solution is envisioned if there's an end to any border assignment according to the current administrative limit, or that eventually it's about any change of administrative limit”, Milosavljevic stressed.
(Video: President Vuciq during the Forum in Alpbach has said Serbs and Albanians have to solve problems)
However, Aleksandar Vuciq, when taking over the post of president of Serbia in Serbia's Parliament on 31 May 2017, has sworn in, saying that all his powers “will devote the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo as part of it”.
What the Serbian president's oath will look like, following the upcoming election for president in this country, remains to be seen. / REL
