Human rights organizations have launched today a procedure for assessing the constitutionality of the Law on Registry Books to challenge the provision of the Law which provides that registrars exceptionally may postpone the birth registration for checking or determining the data which they  consider missing at the moment of the birth registration. This imprecisely worded provision of the Law actually allows to the official bodies to deny children the right to a name and identity, giving these authorities the legal cover for the denial of a birth certificate. In this sense, the Law is contrary to the internationally recognized human right of every child to be registered immediately after birth.

The Initiative actually raises a question of whether this provision is in accordance with the best interests of the child and the principle of prohibition of discrimination. Every child has the right from birth to a name and identity that must be available to all children in Serbia.

Praxis and ERRC are members of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), and together they developed this initiative as part of a three-year pan-European strategy ENS which aims to eliminate statelessness among children.

For more information, see: Roma in Serbia Still Denied Birth Certificates – Human Rights Organisations Take Legal Action to Challenge Register Offices’ Unlimited Power