Why there should be a place for the security system in the Constitution of Serbia?

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) is organizing a panel discussion „Why there should be a  place for the security system in the Constitution of Serbia?“. The event will take place on Tuesday, February 13^th 2018 starting at 11 a.m. in Media Center (Terazije 3, Belgrade), II floor, Main Hall.

Some of the questions to be discussed:

Why is constitutional reform necessary in the area of security?

What are the consequences of a lacking constitutional regulation of security?

How to improve constitutional provisions in this area?

What place for national security in comparative constitutional practice?

Which lessons can we take from Serbian constitutional tradition in this area?

Answers will be offered by:

• Miroslav Hadžić, president of BCSP’s Executive Board
• Bogoljub Milosavljević, professor at the Law Faculty of the Union University
• Jelena Pejić, BCSP researcher
• Moderator: Vlada Milić, director of the Production group Mreža

The goal of the panel discussion is to point to key gaps in the constitutional regulation in the area of security, as well as to offer suggestions on how to overcome them. The definition and regulation of the security system as such was ommited in the Constitution of Serbia of 2006, which left enough space for adoption of parcial and inconsistent laws and by-laws that have lead to a strengthened personal and party control over security institutions. As a consequence, we are witnessing an erosion of security sector integrity and democratic control and oversight that jeopardize citizen rights.

Although the professional community has pointed from the start to deficiencies in the constitutional text and the process of its adoption, Serbian Government has not until recently initiated constitutional reforms, but only in the judicial sector, pressured by the progress line of Serbian accession negotiations with the European Union, and ignoring other areas that need constitutional change. In this way BCSP aims to contribute to a wider debate on what constitution citizens of Serbia need and what place should the security system take therein.