PRIGOVOR SAVESTI U REPUBLICI SRBIJI
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION IN REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Summary/Abstract: In contemporary constitutional legal literature, the importance of the institute of conscientious objection is often emphasized. The institute itself can be interpreted in several ways. The author in this paper therefore fi rst deals with emergence and historical evolution of this term, which had originally been understood as a religious right, while today it is recognized by numerous Council of Europe and United Nations conventions as a fundamental human right. The paper thus scrutinizes universal international standards applied in the case of conscientious objection. The author particularly underlines the case law of the UN Human Rights Committee, the work of which has highlighted the issue of conscientious objection, coming to the conclusion that conscientious objection can indirectly be derived from the right to a freedom of thought, conscience and religion. In the second part of the paper, the author explains the emergence and makes an analysis of this institute in the legal system of Serbia. He consequently provides detailed scrutiny of Article 137 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Articles 296–300 of the Law on Yugoslav Army, as well as the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court. The author propounds a series of argument stressing imprecision and contradictoriness of the norms prevailing at the time. A subsequent analysis of the normative framework of the currently valid Constitution is performed. It is necessary to point out that by enacting the Law on Civil Service, the legal framework has been upgraded, fully recognizing conscientious objection in Serbia as a human right. Finally, taking into consideration the announced amendment of the Constitution, the author draws special attention to the need to further maintain the said institute in any future constitutional text.

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