PART 7. TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION
1. Provincial autonomy and local self-government
Article 176. Concept
Citizens shall have the right to the provincial autonomy and local self-government, which they shall exercise directly or through their freely elected representatives.
Autonomous provinces and local self-government units shall have the status of legal entities.
Article 177. Definition the competences
Local self-government units shall be competent in those matters which may be realized, in an effective way, within a local self-government unit, and autonomous provinces in those matters which may be realized, in an effective way, within an autonomous province, which shall not be the competence of the Republic of Serbia.
What matters shall be of republic, provincial or local interest shall be specified by the Law.
Article 178. Delegation of competences
The Republic of Serbia may, in accordance with the law, delegate particular matters within its competence to autonomous provinces and local self-government units.
According to its decision, an autonomous province may delegate particular matters within its competence to local self-government units.
Resources to execute the delegated competences shall be provided for by the Republic of Serbia or an autonomous province, depending on who the competences were delegated by.
Right and duties of autonomous provinces and local self-government units and powers of the Republic of Serbia and autonomous provinces in the process of monitoring the execution of delegated competences shall be regulated by the Law.
Article 179. The right to autonomous organization of bodies
Autonomous provinces, in accordance with the Constitution and the Statute, and local self-government units, in accordance with the Constitution and the Law, shall autonomously regulate the organization and competences of its bodies and public services.
Article 180. The Assembly of an autonomous province and local self-government unit
The Assembly shall be the supreme body of the autonomous province and a local self-government unit.
The Assembly shall be constitutes of deputies, and the assembly of a local self-government unit of councilors.
Deputies and councilors shall be elected for the period of four years, in direct elections by secret ballot, namely, deputies in accordance with the decision of the Assembly of the autonomous province, and councilors in accordance with the Law.
In those autonomous provinces and local self-government units with the population of mixed nationalities, a proportional representation of national minorities in assemblies shall be provided for, in accordance with the Law.
Article 181. Cooperation of autonomous provinces and local self-government units
Autonomous provinces and local self-government units shall cooperate with the corresponding territorial communities and local self-government units from other countries, within the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia, observing the territorial integrity and legal system of the Republic of Serbia.
2. Autonomous provinces
Article 182. Concept, establishment and territory of autonomous province
Autonomous provinces shall be autonomous territorial communities established by the Constitution, in which citizens exercise the right to the provincial autonomy.
In the Republic of Serbia, there are the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. The substantial autonomy of the Autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija shall be regulated by the special law which shall be adopted in accordance with the proceedings envisaged for amending the Constitution.
New autonomous provinces may be established, and already established ones may be revoked or merged following the proceedings envisaged for amending the Constitution.
The proposal to establish new, or revoke or merge the existing autonomous provinces shall be established by citizens in a referendum, in accordance with the Law.
Territory of autonomous provinces and the terms under which borders between autonomous provinces may be altered shall be regulated by the Law. Territory of autonomous provinces may not be altered without the consent of its citizens given in a referendum, in accordance with the Law.
Article 183. Competences of autonomous provinces
Autonomous provinces shall, in accordance with the Constitution and their Statutes, regulate the competences, election, organization and work of bodies and services they establish.
Autonomous provinces shall, in accordance with the Law, regulate the matters of provincial interest in the following fields:
- urban planning and development,
- agriculture, water economy, forestry, hunting, fishery, tourism, catering, spas and health resorts, environmental protection, industry and craftsmanship, road, river and railway transport and road repairs, organizing fairs and other economic events,
- education, sport, culture, health care and social welfare and public informing at the provincial level.
Autonomous provinces shall see to exercising human and minority rights, in accordance with the Law.
Autonomous provinces shall establish their symbols, as well as the manner in which they shall be put to use.
Autonomous provinces shall manage the provincial assets in the manner stipulated by the Law.
Autonomous provinces shall, in accordance with the Constitution and the Law, have direct revenues, provide the resources for local self-government units for performing the delegated affairs and adopt their budget and annual balance sheet.
Article 184. Financial autonomy of autonomous provinces
An autonomous province shall have direct revenues for financing its competences.
A kind and amount of direct revenues shall be stipulated by the Law.
The Law shall specify the share of autonomous provinces in the part of revenue of the Republic of Serbia.
The budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina shall amount to at least 7% in relation to the budget of the Republic of Serbia, bearing in mind that three-sevenths of the budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina shall be used for financing the capital expenditures.
Article 185. Legal acts of autonomous province
The Statute shall be the supreme legal act of the autonomous province.
The Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina shall be adopted by its Assembly, subject to prior approval of the National Assembly.
The autonomous province shall enact other decisions and general acts pertaining to matters within its competences.
Article 186. Monitoring the work of bodies of autonomous province
The Government may institute, before the Constitutional Court, the proceedings of assessing the constitutionality and legality of a decision adopted by the autonomous province, prior to its coming into force. In that sense, prior to passing its decision, the Constitutional Court may defer coming into force of the challenged decision of the autonomous province.
Article 187. Protection of the provincial autonomy
A body designated by the Statute of the autonomous province shall have a right to lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Court, if an individual legal act or action of a state body or body of local self-government unit obstructs performing the competences of the autonomous province.
A body designated by the Statute of the autonomous province may institute the proceedings of assessing the constitutionality or legality of the law and other legal act of the Republic of Serbia or the legal act of the local self-government unit which violates the right to the provincial autonomy.
3. Local self-government
Article 188. General provisions
Local self-government units shall be municipalities, towns and the City of Belgrade.
The territory and seat of a local self-government unit shall be specified by the Law.
Establishment, revocation or alteration of the territory of a local self-government unit shall be preceded by a referendum on the territory of that local self-government unit.
Affairs of a local self-government unit shall be financed form the direct revenues of the local self-government unit, the budget of the Republic of Serbia, in accordance with the Law, and the budget of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in cases when the autonomous province delegated the performing of affairs within its competences, in accordance with the decision of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province.
Article 189. Status of local self-government units
Municipalities shall be established and revoked by the Law.
A town shall be established by the Law, in accordance with the criteria stipulated by the Law regulating local self-government.
A town shall have competences delegated to the municipality by the Constitution, whereas other competences may be delegated to it by the Law.
It may be envisaged in the Statute of the town to establish two or more town municipalities on the territory of the town. The Statute of the town shall regulate the affairs falling within the town competence performed by town municipalities.
The status of the City of Belgrade, the capital of the Republic of Serbia, shall be regulated by the Law on the Capital and the Statute of the City of Belgrade. The City of Belgrade shall have competences delegated to the municipality and city by the Constitution and the Law, and other competences may be delegated to it in accordance with the Law on the Capital.
Article 190. Competence of municipality
The municipality shall, through its bodies, and in accordance with the Law:
- regulate and provide for the performing and development of municipal activities;
- regulate and provide for the use of urban construction sites and business premises;
- be responsible for construction, reconstruction, maintenance and use of local network of roads and streets and other public facilities of municipal interest; regulate and provide for the local transport;
- be responsible for meeting the needs of citizens in the field of education, culture, health care and social welfare, child welfare, sport and physical culture;
- be responsible for development and improvement of tourism, craftsmanship, catering and commerce;
- be responsible for environmental protection, protection against natural and other disasters; protection of cultural heritage of the municipal interest;
- protection, improvement and use of agricultural land;
- perform other duties specified by the Law.
The municipality shall autonomously, in accordance with the Law, adopt its budget and annual balance sheet, the urban development plan and municipal development program, establish the symbols of the municipality, as well as their use.
The municipality shall see to exercising, protection and improvement of human and minority rights, as well as to public informing in the municipality.
The municipality shall autonomously manage the municipal assets, in accordance with the Law.
The municipality shall, in accordance with the Law, prescribe offenses related to violation of municipal regulations.
Article 191. Municipal legal acts and bodies
The Statute shall be the supreme legal act of the municipality. The Statute shall be adopted by the Municipal Assembly.
The Municipal Assembly shall pass general acts within its competences, adopt the budget and annual balance sheet, adopt the development plan and the municipal spatial plan, schedule the municipal referendum and perform other duties specified by the Law and the Statute.
Municipal bodies shall be the Municipal Assembly and other bodies designated by the Statute, in accordance with the Law.
The Municipal Assembly shall decide on the election of municipal executive bodies, in accordance with the Law and the Statute.
Election of executive bodies of the town and the City of Belgrade shall be regulated by the Law.
Article 192. Monitoring the work of municipality
The Government shall be obliged to cancel the enforcement of the municipal general act which it considers to be in noncompliance with the Constitution or the Law, and institute the proceedings of assessing its constitutionality or legality within five days.
The Government may, under the terms specified by the Law, dismiss the Municipal Assembly.
Simultaneously with the dismissal of the Municipal Assembly, the Government shall appoint a temporary body which shall perform duties within the competences of the Assembly, taking into consideration the political and national composition of the dismissed Municipal Assembly.
Article 193. Protection of local self-government
The body designated by the Statute of the municipality shall have the right to lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Court if an individual legal act or action by a state body or body of local self-government unit obstructs performing the competences of the municipality.
The body designated by the Statute of the municipality may institute the proceedings of assessing the constitutionality or legality of the Law or other legal act of the Republic of Serbia or autonomous province which violates the right to local self-government.
