National Assembly of Serbia Building photo By Suicasmo Wikimedia

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about the National Assembly of Serbia


 

The National Assembly exercises supreme legislative power. It adopts and amends the constitutions, elects Government, and appoints the governor of the National Bank of Serbia and other state officials.

The National Assembly of Serbia has 250 deputies who are elected in Multi-party elections for 4 years term. The deputies must elect the Government of the Republic of Serbia which together with the president of Serbia later has the role of constituting the executive power.

The constitution indicated that of the 250 deputies, 30% of them must be female. The president and the deputy president are elected by the deputies. They consider the majority votes. In each parliamentary group, there must be a Vice-president.

The National Assembly has the constitutional and Legislative power in Serbia. Judiciary is Independent. National Assembly May be dissolved by the president if there are crises in the Assembly. There are Vacancies and replacements in the assembly in case a member resigns.

1. National Assembly of Serbia Elections

National Assembly of Serbia photo By MikyM Wikimedia

Elections at the National Assembly of Serbia are regulated by the constitution and are held after four years. However, they can be held in between if the assembly dismisses the Government or when the Government resigns and no majority can be reached to elect a new Government.

 The end of the term of the office of the National assembly is called off by the president of Serbia 90 days earlier so that the elections are finished within the following 60 days. After the elections, the first session is convened by the speaker from the previous convocation.

2. Working Bodies of the National Assembly

Boards or Committees are the standing working bodies of the National Assembly that have been established to work on the challenges that might be arising within the proposed official documents and carry out reviews of policies pursued, laws, by-laws, and other regulations implemented by the Government.

A bill in the National Assembly must first be considered by competent Committees and the Government before being considered by National Assembly. However, the committee and the Government might as well decide whether the National Assembly accepts or reject the bill.

The member of the committee is nominated by the Parliamentary groups proportionally to the number of deputies they have at the National Assembly.

3. Has the Duty of Passing the Acts

The National Assembly of Serbia passes Acts such as Laws, budgets, spatial plans, financial statements, Development, declarations, resolutions, recommendations, decisions, conclusions, and authentic Interpretations of the acts it passes.

 The rules of the National Assembly of Serbia regulate the work and the organization of the National Assembly and how the deputies’ rights and duties are exercised.

4. A Composition of Deputies Some Being Women.

The National Assembly of Serbia is composed of 250 deputies. 30% of the deputies must be women. Deputies may not hold dual functions which represents a Conflict of Interest. They are elected after four- year’s terms by secret ballot.

The assembly elects a president who presides over the sessions. The National Assembly has the power to exercise supreme legislative power. Deputies enjoy Parliamentary immunity.

5. Vacancies and Replacement of the National Assembly

National Assembly of Serbia photo By MikyM Wikimedia

Serbia’s law on the Election of Representatives (2000) indicates that if an elected representative decided to quit before the dissolution of the assembly there is a right to fill the vacant position but the position must be given to a person in the same political party to which the resigned person belonged.

Many changes have been made over the years such as in 2007, it only permitted party leaders to determine which candidates would enter parliament after the elections, despite where the candidate was placed on the list.

Later in 2011, the law was formed to clarify the vacant mandates would be awarded to the first candidate from the same electoral list who was awarded a mandate, and in the account of a resignation of a member elected on a coalition list, the vacant would be awarded to the first candidate on the list from the same party who was not awarded a mandate.

6. Sessions of the National Assembly

National Assembly of Serbia Building photo By Suicasmo Wikimedia

In Serbia, the first session of the new Assembly is always convened by the Assembly Speaker from the Previous Assembly and chaired by the previous deputy. Since they are new, they are assisted in their work by the youngest deputy from each of the four-party that had the majority number of seats.

It’s during the first session that the president of the National Assembly, Vice-president, members of the working bodies, and the secretary of the National Assembly are appointed. The assembly is convoked two sessions per year.

7. Dissolving of the National Assembly in Serbia

In Serbia, there are instances in which an assembly may be dissolved. Such instances may include; if the assembly is in crisis, the president may decide to dissolve the assembly upon an elaborated proposal of the government.

The National Assembly is also dissolved if it fails to elect the government within 90 days from the day of its constitution. However, it may not be dissolved during a state of war and emergency.

A dissolved national assembly, only performs urgent and current tasks. For instance, if a state of emergency or war is announced, they will have to work until the end of the crisis.

8. Parliamentary Groups

In Serbia, parliamentary groups in the National Assembly according to the law must be formed not later than seven days after the election of the President. Each parliamentary group is led by a president who is assisted by several vice presidents.

 The leaders of the groups meet regularly with the president of the National Assembly to discuss and arrange the agenda for future meetings. A group with five or more deputies can be officially recognized as a parliamentary group.

9. Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly

The National Assembly of Serbia has the mandate to elect the President through the Majority votes of all deputies and one or more vice- Presidents which means one Vice-president from each parliamentary group

The president has to represent the National Assembly, convoke its sessions, preside over the sessions and perform other activities. The Vice-president assists the President in performing the duties within their purview.

10. The Role of the Secretary in the National Assembly

The secretary is appointed by the National Assembly and His/her role is to assist the president and the Vice-president in preparing and chairing sittings.

The secretary’s term of office is terminated upon the constitution of a newly elected Assembly but continues discharging their duties until a new secretary is elected.