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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Public debate on draft law on registration soon

Belgrade, 7 March 2008

Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Milan Markovic stated today that the Ministry has prepared a draft law on registration and announced that a public debate on this regulation will be opened within seven days.

Milan Markovic at today's press conference

Markovic said in a press conference that the programme for the public debate will be established next week and expressed hope that the regulation will enter parliamentary procedure during the spring sitting.

He noted that it is realistic to expect the law to be adopted in autumn together with bills on political parties and the electoral register.

The Ministry is completing the draft laws on the electoral register and political parties, which will be publicly discussed within a month, Markovic announced.

The Minister presented the draft law on registration and recalled that this area is regulated by laws from 1973 and 1990, which means that a new law harmonised with the new family law and other regulations as well as needs of information society needs to be passed.

He said that the draft law introduces many novelties which should ensure professionalism and efficiency in the registration service. It will make it possible to preserve the birth records database, and make it easier for citizens to access all documents.

He explained that one of the five basic changes is complete automation of the system for issuing certificates and attestations to citizens, which will make it possible for birth, marriage and death certificates registered in any municipality in the country to be issued at any local registration office.

People will not have to travel to other municipalities or cities in order to obtain documents, said the Minister and added that technical requirements for issuing certificates in this manner have already been met in the City of Belgrade.

According to Markovic, the other important novelty is the obligation to keep copies of registration records in electronic format, and the draft law gives all state organs of public administration a period of five years to carry this out.

Markovic said that according to the draft law the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government will keep the second database in electronic format, and not the Ministry of Interior, as was the case until now.

He said that in order to make the administration professional and to improve its operation, the draft law recommends more demanding criteria for registrars and deputy registrars.

Markovic said that registrations are in the Serbian language and in the Cyrillic script, but records will also be kept in the languages and scripts of ethnic minorities.

The draft law on registration precisely regulates the preservation of all registration records in written and electronic format, which will after 100 years be handed over to a relevant archives institution.