The theme of this issue of Sarajevo Notebook is The National Literary Canon. Within the framework of this thematic block, literary theorists and critics from the former Yugoslavia try to analyse the concept of national literary canon and its implications in the post-Yugoslav reality of the Balkans. In doing so they focus their attention on the basic theoretical principles for determining the proper criteria for the identification of canonical writers and on the impact of dominant ideologies and political power centres on the formation of national canons in literature. Macedonian theorist Jasna Koteska gives her criticism of the patriarchal system of recruiting the national bards of literature, and points to the necessity of repeated canon evaluation, whose motto could be: history is not only generals’ history, but also the history of private soldiers.
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Keywords: Emerik Bernard
As usual, the last, but not least important pages of Sarajevo Notebook magazine open the space for insight into the creative cosmos of a fine-art painter. This time, we are talking about the renowned Slovenian painter Emerik Bernard, out of the pen of poet and art theorist Andrej Medved.
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The theme of this issue of Sarajevo Notebook is The National Literary Canon. Within the framework of this thematic block, literary theorists and critics from the former Yugoslavia try to analyse the concept of national literary canon and its implications in the post-Yugoslav reality of the Balkans. In doing so they focus their attention on the basic theoretical principles for determining the proper criteria for the identification of canonical writers and on the impact of dominant ideologies and political power centres on the formation of national canons in literature. Bosnian-Herzegovinian theorist Nirman Moranjak-Bamburać points to patriarchal patterns in the reproduction of literary canons. Her highly analytical essay encourages the development of an informed and truly competent literary criticism, which could result in the resolution of a vital paradox: the most valuable canon works should move beyond the limits of their own cultures; thus, the most valuable sprouts of national literature would also present the main tool for de-canonisation.
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In the section My Choice, the celebrated writer Bora Ćosić inscribes a highly personal essay on the poetry and life of Irena Vrkljan, under the suggestive title Diary on Irena. In an interesting and impressive manner, fragments from Irena’s poetry are interlaced with the details of her biography, imparting the notion of a prolific, although frequently dolorous saturation.
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This time, the Passport section brings a minor anthology of contemporary Finnish poetry selected by Anni Sumari and translated by Dragana Cvetanović. This small, but picturesque window into the diverse landscapes of the modern lyric poetry of Finland provides a precious insight into developments in this part of literary scene, and a sample that can help to accurately situate their literature developments into a wider frame of modern Scandinavian and European poetry.
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The Diary of this issue is written by a well-known Croatian writer, Daπa Drndić. Her diary’s search for order in the pieces of her experienced and imagined reality begins in Croatia, in Rijeka, where she has lived in recent years. The episodes of her very personal experience of movement from Belgrade to Croatia in the years of collective madness in the Balkans are intermingled with reflections on her literary and academic engagement within the structure of perverted academic and cultural institutions. Daπa continues her refreshing, but somewhat anxious considerations with a walk in the streets of Vienna, reflecting on the ill-omened silence that preceded and enabled the deportations of so many Viennese Jews into death camps. Talking about deported people also means talking about their neighbours, about the silence that, even decades after the defeat of fascism, has not been beaten out by a sound that would let Daπa give another title to the brief, closing chapter of her diary notes. Thus, her diary ends with a passage titled The Despair, and a Kierkegaard’s citation: Sickness of dying, and not being able to die. Sickness unto death.
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Keywords: Serbian Civil Law Code (project); ancient Rome; the classical age and the age of Justinian; legal practice; aequitas and bona fides; the prohibition of the abuse of rights.
The topic of this paper is a short overview of the principles aequitas and bona fides in the legal practice of ancient Rome and the analysis of a few examples of the prevention of the abuse of rights, based on these principles. The aim of the paper is to suggest the legislator that, in addition to a specific emphasis given to the prohibition of the abuse of rights, the future Serbian Civil Law Code (a project currently in progress) should stress the principles of justness, conscientiousness, and honesty, and that judges should be allowed more freedom in the application of these principles, in order for abuse of rights to be more successfully prevented in particular cases, much more numerous than legally expressible. This proposal implies the competence of judges, who should be up to this task both professionally and ethically in the very complex Serbian circumstances. In the end of the paper, dilemmas and opinions of some authors regarding ways to prevent present-day abuse of rights are given. An answer to the question from the beginning is also offered, i.e. it is concluded that judges should be given more freedom in the application of the principles aequitas and bona fides, in order for abuse of law to be prevented as successfully as possible (this especially applies to those new instances which cannot be foreseen in the legal acts). Along with this, a position is presented that perhaps, like old Romans, we should stress today that judicial application of law implies the respect of justice, and that in justice there is indeed something divine; this would , with a strong responsibility of the judge, imply a necessity to bring justice and law as close to each other as possible.
More...Keywords: Language rights; right to legal protection; official language; national minority; citizens; language of proceedings; court writings; filings; translation; interpretation; costs of translation and interpretation
This Paper represents a critical analysis of the legislation pertaining to the use of native tongues of different ethnic groups in Serbian civil procedure. The differences between native tongues of the citizens of multinational countries, such as Serbia, can result in a wide range of problems referring to judicial protection of citizen's rights and interests in civil matters. For that reason, Serbian legislation provides for a variety of measures aimed at preventing inequality with respect to the realization of this public subjective right guaranteed by the Constitution. However, statutory provisions related to this issue have certain drawbacks, and one of the most apparent shortcomings inherent to these measures is that their scope is limited only to communities granted with the formal status of "National Minority". The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the legislative drawbacks, as well as to suggest possible ways to overcome them. Even though the suggested solutions to the identified problems differ, their underlying principle is the principle of equality of all the citizens, disregarding their nationality and irrespective of whether their native tongue is the official language of the court or not
More...Keywords: the light and dark side of globalization; new global empire; European Union
The chief argument of this article is to be found in the extremely dramatic complications of globalization. The miraculous technological, economic and cultural hights that man has attained provide an unimagined power for creating a more humane, peace-loving and democratic "World Society". However, at the same time their dark side becomes overpowering, turning the global arena into a World Society of risk. The democratic image of globalization or the Orwellian repressive world regime and an unbridled upsurge of risk are at stake. The new era brings about a new, epochal perspective: integration into a single and united European Union, the process of which will, however, have different rhythms for different European states.
More...Keywords: deconcentration of administration; decentralization; territorial autonomy; state fragment; octroying of privileges.
In the opinion polls and proposals related to the amendment of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, which have been conducted and presented from different sides in the public life of this republic, the need for Serbia's regionalization has often been underlined. The questions like "Is this need really existent?", and if this question is answered confirmatively, what this regionalization should be like, can only be answered correctly if one really gets to know what region or regions are in essence. A great confusion is present in regard to this issue, not only in the general public, but also among the experts. The reason is, after all, that regions arise as extremely volatile institutional forms, as "flowers of thousands of colours". Therefore, in an attempt to clear up the said confusion, a clear-cut scientific understanding is necessary, based on an adequate systematization and classification of all the phenomenal forms of region. In an ideal situation, this should be the intention behind this text. However, due to the vastness of the material, this intention cannot be completely realized here. Hence, this text will be confined, aside from the juridical-theoretic, logical considerations, to the analysis of the most current and perhaps the most authoritative forms of region. As long as the older forms are concerned, a depiction of sorts can be found in our study titled "Regions (Forms of Territorial Autonomy) in the Theory of Law and History of Law", which appeared in the issue 112-113/2002 of the journal Letopis Matice srpske, as well as in English, in the journal Facta Universitatis, Series Law and Politics, vol. 1 for the year 2002. First of all, it should be kept in mind that regionalization is founded upon larger or smaller political ramifications and contrasts; region is a political setting of boundaries in relation to the surrounding area.
More...Keywords: affirmative action; positive discrimination; beneficiary; implementation; equality; race; woman; liberal state; social state; US Supreme Court; European Court of Justice.
The existence of affirmative action (better known as "positive discrimination") demonstrates that there are areas where law as a neutral tool shows its limits as a means of resolution of social disputes. This paper undertakes a comparative exploration of affirmative action discourse in US and EU law. Affirmative action first appeared in the US in the 1960s and 1970s, and initially it was used only in the context of racial discrimination. More recently, however, affirmative action came to be extensively utilized in the EU, and it is primarily used to ensure women equality in the workforce. Both systems recognize that affirmative action constitutes a departure from the fundamental principle of formal equality, and because of that departure, requires further justification. However, in the EU, Article 2(4) of the Equal treatment Directive explicitly allows deviation from formal equality that makes the justification of positive action easier than in the US. The usual test applied by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in reviewing a measure justified under derogation is that of proportionality, which has three parts: suitability, necessity, and proportionality. In the US, there is the raging debate in the US Supreme Court over which is the correct standard of review with regard to race-based governmental actions. The ECJ sees positive action as a measure to diminish discrimination in the whole of society showing that women are not still an equal footing with the men in employment, and no evidence of past discrimination is required. On the contrary, the US Supreme Court's held in Croson that evidence of societal discrimination against minorities, by itself, would not suffice to justify a preferential treatment. Finally, the affirmative action plan in the EU is seen as a remedy for discrimination that women suffer due to persistent stereotypes. From another side, the US Supreme Court recognized in Bakke that "preferential programs may only reinforce common stereotypes holding that certain groups are unable to achieve success without special protection based on a factor having no relationship to individual worth. "Today, it is evident that affirmative action in both systems sends both inspiring and disturbing messages. It is very important for us to study it's implementation in these two developed systems, especially after the adoption of the Charter on human and minority rights and civil liberties, which explicitly allows this measure in article 3, to enable every inidividual to equally enjoys its rights.
More...Keywords: A Book of Manifold Value / Mile Ilić: Grad u lokalnoj samoupravi (City in Local Self-Government); Miroslav Pečujlić: Globalizacija – dva sveta (Globalization – Two Worlds)
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