Within the project European Good Practices – Advocacy Tool in Serbia, in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Foundation, the Regional Minority Centre and Dokukino, Praxis organised a two-day expert debate on 29-30 September 2011 in Belgrade addressing the recognition of the right to be recognised as persons before the law and the exercise of the right to adequate housing in Serbia. The goal of the debate was to contribute to the finding of systemic solutions which would allow the unimpeded enjoyment of these rights, on the basis of European practice. The invited European experts presented the examples of good practice and participated in discussion with the colleagues from Serbia on how to solve the problem of legally invisible persons and increasingly frequent forced evictions in Serbia.

The debate panellists were: Laura van Waas (Senior Researcher and Manager of the Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands), Adrian Berry (barrister/advocate at Garden Court Chambers, London), Adam Weiss (Assistant Director of the AIRE Centre, London), Giulia Perin (attorney-at-law, Association for Legal Studies on Immigration, Italy), Claude Cahn (Human Rights Adviser, Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Moldova), Idaver Memedov (lawyer, European Roma Rights Centre, Budapest) and Meghna Abraham (Head of Economic, Social and Cultural Team, the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, London). The two-day debate gathered some 80 participants, including the representatives of state bodies, non-governmental and international organisations.

In Belgrade, Praxis organised a roundtable entitled Legally invisible persons – still without a solution. The roundtable participants were the representatives of non-governmental organisations dealing with legally invisible persons. The roundtable was an opportunity to once again consider the recent initiatives and achieved results, and to agree on further activities that should be taken with the aim of joint advocacy for adequate systemic solution of the problem of legally invisible persons.

The roundtable was attended by forty representatives of non-governmental organisations and they jointly concluded that they should increase the civil sector pressure on the competent bodies through joint initiatives and appeals, and include the media and draw their attention to the problems encountered by these persons.

In order to facilitate a discussion on simplifying access to rights for socially vulnerable and marginalised population, on an equal basis and without discrimination, Praxis held three roundtables, in cooperation with the Roma Educational Centre, which were attended by 60 representatives of local institutions (social welfare centres, the National Employment Service, administration bodies, police, the Protector of Citizens, etc.) and non-governmental organisations. The roundtables were held in Subotica (19 April 2011), Novi Sad (29 June 2011) and Zrenjanin (31 October 2011).

The roundtable participants were informed about the content of workshops held with the residents of informal settlements and the basic problems faced by the members of marginalised communities in their territory. The discussion included also the current regulations, problems, action plans, measures for the improvement of their position, and the examples of good practice. The general conclusion of the participants was that some regulations were out of date and should be changed, also pointing to the necessity of cooperation of all institutions in order to start solving the problems faced by marginalised groups, particularly the Roma community. The general impression is that the representatives of institutions are open for solving specific and individual problems, and also that easier access to rights will largely depend on the change of current regulations and effectiveness of advocacy for the adoption of more efficient and fair solutions.

Praxis and other members of the Coalition for Access to Justice, submitted comments to the Draft Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure to the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration. 

The Coalition for Access to Justice submitted general comments to the conception of the basic principles of the civil procedure and some solutions in proposed amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure – provisions on representation of clients, filing a lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia and local self-governance units, legal remedies and other provisions.

To remind, at the beginning of 2012 the Coalition for Access to Justice submitted the Initiative for assessing the constitutionality of the Articles 85, 170, 193, 499 and 500 of the Law on Civil Procedure to the Constitutional Court of Serbia. The working group for the amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure have modified the provisions of the Articles 85, 499 and 500 of the Law, and proposed the change of the Article 193 of the Law.

Comments to the Draft Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure can be seen here

Praxis and other members of the Coalition for Access to Justice, submitted comments to the Draft Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure to the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration. 

The Coalition for Access to Justice submitted general comments to the conception of the basic principles of the civil procedure and some solutions in proposed amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure – provisions on representation of clients, filing a lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia and local self-governance units, legal remedies and other provisions.

For more information see the announcement Coalition for Access to Justice Submitted Comments to the Draft Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure to the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration  

After many years of efforts, which non-governmental organizations invested in order to draw attention of the state to the difficult position of persons who failed to subsequently register in birth registry book on the grounds of the existing regulations, and find an adequate systemic solution for the problem of legally invisible persons, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure on 31 August 2012.

Since those amendments prescribe the procedure for determination of date and place of birth of persons not registered in birth registry books, the adoption of this Law eliminated the first obstacle in exercise of the right to recognition and formed that basis for the registration in birth registry books for those persons who have not been able to prove the fact of their birth so far.

For more information see Law on Amendments to the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure Adopted 

N.M. did not fulfill the condition for submitting the request for issuance of ID card because he was not able to register his permanent residence since he was living on the stairs in front of Grdelica Community Centre. Upon the intervention of Praxis on the application of the Article 11, Paragraph 2, Item 4 of the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence of Citizens on the basis of which the competent body can establish the permanent residence at the address of the Social Welfare Centre, the Manager of the Social Welfare Centre Leskovac (SWC) addressed the Police Department Leskovac with the request for the issuance of ID card for N.M. with the temporary residence registered at the address of SWC. Acting upon the request, Police Department Leskovac issued the ID card to N.M. with the permanent residence registered at the address of SWC and validity date of 10 years. According to the official of the Police Department, it is not possible to register the temporary but only the permanent residence due to the shortcomings of the information system of the Ministry of Interior.

Manager of the SWC draws attention that no bylaw, which would regulate the procedure of the registration of permanent residence at the address of the Social Welfare Centre, has been adopted so far, which prevents the consistent application of the Article 11, Paragraph 2, Item 4 of the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence. In addition, SWC has approved the registration of temporary residence at the address of SWC to yet another person.

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality has determined discriminatory behaviour towards the Roma accommodated in container settlements formed after the eviction of informal Roma settlement Belvil in Belgrade.

That reaction of the Commissioner came upon the complaint, which Praxis filed in the name of the Coalition against Discrimination to the Commissioner, for the legal regime established in container settlements in which the Belgrade City Administration place the Roma evicted from some informal settlements.

Actually, the City Administration conditioned the Roma living in container settlements with good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade and their interest in the efforts of the City to socialize the individuals and have other people in the containers, in order to avoid the possibility to be forcibly evicted. On the basis of those discriminatory provisions, the City Administration evicted 11 families (44 persons).

Accordingly, the Commissioner has made the recommendation to the City Administration to amend the discriminatory provisions of the contract on the use of mobile housing units and house rules within 30 days upon the reception of the recommendation.

For more information see the announcement Discrimination against Roma Living in Container Settlements Formed after Forced Evictions

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality has determined that the Belgrade City Administration had discriminated against the Roma living in container settlements, said NGO Praxis.

The City Administration has stipulated that if the Roma residing in container settlements “do not adopt rules of good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade”, and “do not show an interest in the efforts of the City to socialize the individuals and their families”, or if they “have guests in the containers”, they might be again forcibly evicted from the accommodation provided to them.

At the same time, the Commissioner has made a recommendation to the City Administration to amend the discriminatory provisions of the contract on the use of mobile housing units and house rules obliging for the Roma in container settlements.

Praxis filed a complaint in the name of the Coalition against Discrimination to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for the fact that a legal regime established in container settlements, in which the City Administration places Roma after being evicted from some informal settlements, does not apply to any other population groups.

Read in Elektronske Novine

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality has determined that the Belgrade City Administration had discriminated against the Roma living in container settlements, said NGO Praxis.

At the same time, the Commissioner has made a recommendation to the City Administration to amend the discriminatory provisions of the contract on the use of mobile housing units and house rules obliging for the Roma in container settlements.

Praxis filed a complaint in the name of the Coalition against Discrimination to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for the fact that a legal regime established in container settlements, in which the City Administration places Roma after being evicted from some informal settlements, does not apply to any other population groups.

Read on B92