Устав Републике Србије и људска права
Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and Human Rights

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the issue of human rights as they are envisaged in the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, with their implementation and protection and also with the relationship between the Constitution and international norms regulating human rights. Namely, it is general conclusion that the Constitution of Serbia has too many provisions on human rights. Although they represent a significant part of every constitution it is not needed to envisage almost all human rights and freedoms in the text of the highest legal document in a state. The increase of human rights provisions had negative influence on normative quality of modern constitutions. Some norms can lose their legal character and look more like political statements which are very difficult to apply. Legal norm should be clear and precise. Economic and social rights are usually not defined in that manner and it is disputable whether they should be prescribed in the constitutions. The respect for human rights can be shown not only in excessive regulation of this field, but also in effective protection of human rights when they are violated by the state. Limitations of human rights are also prescribed in the Constitution and they are in accordance with international standards. Moreover, the list of human rights that cannot be limited is more extensive than the list given in the European Convention on Human Rights. The Constitution of Serbia envisages all modern mechanisms of human rights protection. It introduces a constitutional complaint for the first time in the constitutional order of Serbia which improved human rights protection, despite the problem with number of complaints submitted to the Constitutional Court. International law has a significant influence on human rights protection in the Republic of Serbia. That influence arises from the Constitution itself, which guarantees the direct implementation of international conventions and generally accepted rules of international law. The most important international treaty in the field of human rights protection is certainly the European Convention on Human Rights with its efficient mechanism. In the procedural laws of Serbia there are some provisions that stipulate the use of certain extraordinary legal remedies by invoking the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights which confirms the strong position of international law in the system of human rights protection in Serbia.

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