Protection of Human Rights in the Army and Police

The research findings have been organized in four chapters.

The first chapter (Principles and Premises) offers a theoretical and real-life framework for the thematizing of human rights in the army and, in a way, provides an introduction to the Collection. It includes the interventions of Vojin Dimitrijević on the human rights in Yugoslavia, Ljubomir Krstić on warfare and human rights, and Miroslav Hadžić on the theoretical and methodological aspects of looking into the human rights in the army.

Chapter II (Human Rights in the Yugoslav Army) starts with a review of public opinion survey findings by Milorad Timotić, to continue with Jovan Buturović’s reflections on the scope of judicial protection of human rights in the Yugoslav People’s Army and the YA, followed by Svetlana Stojančić’s intervention on the regulation of human rights of YA conscripts. This line of discussion is rounded off by Kosta Čavoški’s inquiry into the treatment of civil rights and freedoms in state exigencies, with reference to the state of war in the FRY during the NATO aggression.

The (im)balance of regulative and actual protection of human rights in the police is addressed by Budimir Babović in chapter III of the Collection (Human Rights in the Police). This is followed by the contributions of Illona Kiss, focusing on the protection of human rights in the armies of East European and Central Asian countries and Željko Ivaniš on the state of human rights in the Army of the Russian Federation in chapter IV (Comparative Experiences).

The reader will certainly note that the papers differ in many respects. They differ in terms of their scope as well as research achievements, and it is only natural that the heterogeneous composition of the research team should result in different language styles. In addition, due to successive extensions of the deadline for project completion one may get the impression that the picture thus presented is somewhat outdated. That is why the editor thought it best to relax his criteria a little bit, aware of the importance of his work as the first thematic collection addressing the situation of human rights in the army, and partly also in the police, of the country that has now become the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. The editor, therefore, willingly accepts his share of responsibility for the possible deficiencies of the Collection hereby presented to the local and foreign public.

Content:

I PRINCIPLES AND PREMISES

Human Rights in Yugoslavia – Vojin Dimitrijević

Warfare and Human Rights – Ljubomir Krstić

The Citizen in Uniform – Miroslav Hadžić

II HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE YUGOSLAV ARMY

Serbian Public Opinion on Human Rights in the Yugoslav Army – Milorad Timotić

Military Courts and Human Rights – Jovan Lj. Buturović

Human Rights of Yugoslav Army Conscripts – Svetlana Stojančić

Freedoms and Rights of Citizens in Public Exigencies – Kosta Čavoški

III HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE POLICE

Normative and Real Aspects of Human Rights Protection in the Police – Budimir Babović

IV COMPARATIVE EXPERIENCES

Protection of Conscripts’ Rights in East European and Central Asian Countries – Ilona Kiss

State of Human Rights in the Army of the Russian Federation – Željko Ivaniš