Апорија Устава СФРЈ од 1974. године
Aporia of the Yugoslav Constitution from 1974.

Author(s): Miroslav Svirčević
Subject(s): History of Law, Constitutional Law, Political history, Politics and law, Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Institut za uporedno pravo
Keywords: Yugoslav Constitution from 1974. Yugoslavia; Basic politics for Yugoslavia; Great Britain: breakingup of Yugoslavia
Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on the origins and consequences of the Constitution of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 1974, which essentially established confederal structure of the state with dominant position of the federal republics and autonomous provinces, and very weak position of the federal government. This Constitution, predominantly based on communist ideology, directly led to disintegration of Yugoslavia and bloody civil wars in the last decade of 20th century. However, this Constitution also had a foreign source: British policy towards Yugoslavia 1941–1944 in the period when Great Britain decided to support pro-communist movement of resistance in Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz Tito. The British agents for special operations (SOE) issued a document entitled Basis Policy for Yugoslavia of 11st April 1943, which contained political principles for legal-political order of the post-war Yugoslav state. These principles were very similar to the principles of the communist Yugoslav constitutionality, especially with the Constitution of 1974. The author concludes that Western powers (USA, Great Britain) strongly influenced the constitutional structure of Yugoslavia, predominantly regarding the relations between socialist republics and autonomous provinces.

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