When in 2020 the Supreme Court of Cassation adopted the Conclusion on the jurisdiction of the non-contentious court in the procedure of registration in birth registry books, it was clear that registration to birth registry books would become much more difficult for many citizens. However, it could probably not be assumed that registration may become as complicated as in the case of the five-year-old girl Katarina ^[1].

After her birth, Katarina was not registered in birth registry books, due to which the procedure of subsequent registration must be conducted for her. Since her mother is not registered in birth registry books and does not have personal documents, the procedure of subsequent registration before the registry office cannot be successfully conducted for Katarina. In fact, in cases where the mother does not have personal documents or where she is not alive or cannot participate in the procedure for another reason, or in situations where there are no witnesses who were present at the birth, or there is no written proof of birth - the child cannot be registered in birth registry books in the administrative procedure before the registry office. 

In these cases, the child should be registered in the court procedure for determining the date and place of birth. This procedure was established by the Amendments to the Non-Contentious Procedure in 2012 and is intended precisely for those who find themselves in Katarina's situation, that is, persons who cannot prove the fact of birth in the administrative procedure. 

For a full eight years, that is, before the adoption of the aforementioned Conclusion of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC), the courts almost always assessed independently whether the conditions for conducting the procedure for determining the date and place of birth were met. In cases where it was obvious that it was not possible to conduct the administrative procedure before the registry office, the courts did not require citizens to attempt to register in birth registry books in the administrative procedure before initiating a court procedure.

Although for years the procedures were conducted as described without problems, which created an extensive and almost uniform court practice, the Supreme Court of Cassation, in its Conclusion on the jurisdiction of the non-contentious court in the procedure of registration in birth registry books, took the position that non-contentious procedures for determining the date and place of birth could be conducted only if the administrative procedure of subsequent registration in birth registry books had been previously conducted and if the request had been rejected.

In accordance with that Conclusion of the Supreme Court of Cassation, instead of immediately initiating a procedure before the court, Katarina's parents first submitted a request for subsequent registration to the registry office, although it was clear from the beginning that there was no chance of success in that procedure since the mother did not have personal documents. However, they hoped that the procedure before the registry office would not last long, that is, that their request would be quickly rejected and that they would therefore be able to initiate a procedure before the court. The request was submitted in October 2021.

However, the competent authority did not issue a decision rejecting the request, but suspended the procedure and determined that the suspension would last until the preliminary issue was resolved, that is, until Katarina's mother was registered in birth registry books. Since the Supreme Court of Cassation took the position that the request had to be rejected, a decision on suspending the procedure did not fulfil the requirement for initiating a court procedure. Thus, Katarina found herself in a situation where she could neither initiate a procedure before the court, nor could she register in the procedure before the registry office.

To make matters worse, the chances of the mother registering in birth registry books in the administrative procedure are no higher than Katarina's, because the mother's mother is no longer alive. However, in accordance with the Conclusion of the Supreme Court of Cassation, it is first necessary for Katarina's mother to obtain a decision rejecting the request in the administrative procedure, and only then to initiate a court procedure. And only when the procedure for the mother is successfully conducted before the court and when she receives the ID card, will it be possible to continue Katarina's procedure for registration in birth registry books. It can take years to achieve this.

Hence, in late 2021, a procedure for subsequent registration was initiated before the registry office for the mother, but even half a year later, there has been no progress in that procedure. When Praxis lawyer called the registry office to inquire about the status of the case, the officer could not find the case at first, and then it turned out that the case reached the wrong officer and that nothing had been done about it.

When the procedure for determining the date and place of birth was introduced into the legal system 10 years ago, it was a salvation for many people who had tried unsuccessfully to register in birth registry books in the administrative procedure for years. In the years that followed, thanks to this procedure, a large number of legally invisible persons managed to register in birth registry books in a rather simple way, which allowed them to obtain personal documents and gain the opportunity to access many rights for the first time. 

Now, however, it seems that things are going backwards and the progress made has been significantly undermined. This is best evidenced by the case of Katarina, who would probably have already been registered in birth registry books if the Supreme Court of Cassation had not adopted the Conclusion and if she had immediately initiated the procedure before the court. Now she is not even close to that goal and it is completely uncertain when and if her registration will be possible at all. 

It should be noted that the disputed legal position of the Supreme Court of Cassation, which is discussed here, is not the only SCC’s position that will make it difficult or impossible for citizens to register in birth registry books. In addition, the Supreme Court of Cassation states in its Conclusion that persons who had been registered in birth registry books, which were later destroyed, as well as “persons registered in the birth registry books of the so-called Republic of Kosovo”, cannot initiate a procedure for determining the date and place of birth. See more about these positions, which are neither purposeful nor in accordance with the valid regulations here and here.

[1] Her real name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Mirita ^[1] is just one of many children who could not be registered in birth registry books immediately after birth because their mothers did not have personal documents.

Mirita is neither the only child whose parents have to pay for every medical examination, because neither she nor her mother have a health card. 

The case of Mirita is neither unique in the fact that the maternity hospital charged the parents for the costs of childbirth, despite the law stating that in cases where the mothers do not have health insurance, the costs of childbirth are covered by the state.

Like other families whose members do not have identity documents, Mirita and her parents cannot receive either child or parental allowance or social assistance, regardless of the fact that her family is among the poorest.

These are situations that keep repeating in Serbia, and they are the result of violating one of the most important rights of the child: to be registered immediately after birth. 

Although only one of many similar ones, the case of Mirita may still be remembered, because it could end this negative practice that leaves hundreds of children without the possibility to exercise their basic rights in the most vulnerable period of their lives. 

In fact, Praxis lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights pointing out that the state had violated Mirita's right to immediate birth registration, thus depriving her of the opportunity to exercise a number of other rights.   

Although international conventions, the Constitution and the Law on Family guarantee immediate birth registration to every child, the undocumented mothers cannot register their newborn children in birth registry books. In order to register these children, it is necessary to conduct special procedures, due to which the registration is delayed for at least a few months, often longer than a year, and sometimes even for years. 

Shortly after her birth, Mirita's parents went to the competent registry office and tried to determine the child’s personal name, but they did not succeed because the mother did not have personal documents. Then they submitted a written request, in which they referred to the regulations guaranteeing every child the right to immediate birth registration and to a personal name immediately after birth, but it was also in vain - the registry office informed them that the police should first establish the mother's identity, then the procedure for registering the mother in birth registry books should be conducted, and after that she should obtain an identity card and only then could she give a statement about the child's personal name.

However, the question is whether Mirita's mother will ever manage to be registered in birth registry books and obtain an identity card. Her request for registration was first rejected by the registry office, and then the court refused to determine the date and place of her birth. Mirita's mother lodged a constitutional complaint, but procedures before the Constitutional Court may last for years. Praxis has already written about the case of Mirita's mother and about her unsuccessful attempts to be registered in registry books. Meanwhile, four months have already passed since Mirita's birth and she is still unregistered.

For years, Praxis has been drawing attention of the competent authorities to the systematic violation of the rights of children in Serbia by depriving them of the right to timely birth registration, and has been stressing the need to remove the obstacles that prevent such registration, but until now there has been no will to solve this problem. However, if the European Court of Human Rights determines that there has been a violation of rights, Mirita's case could be a turning point that would finally end this unacceptable situation.

 [1] Her real name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Praxis lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights in the case of a child who could not be registered in birth registry books immediately after birth.

In the application, Praxis pointed out that due to the failure to facilitate timely registration in birth registry books, the state denied the child the opportunity to confirm her identity and personal status, to establish a legal relationship with her family and other persons, and stressed that the child was deprived of the opportunity to acquire citizenship and to access a large number of rights, which required registration in birth registry books, such as the right to health care, the right to social protection, the right to freedom of movement or the right to property. Thus, the right to respect for private and family life, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, was violated. Given that the problem of timely registration in Serbia affects almost exclusively the Roma population, the application stressed that the principle of non-discrimination had also been violated.

Although the Constitution, the Law on Family and ratified international conventions guarantee every child the right to be registered immediately after birth, in cases where mothers do not have personal documents, children cannot be registered immediately after birth, but the procedures that last from several months to several years must be conducted. Since a significant number of Roma women have still not managed to obtain personal documents, there are new cases of children who in the first months or years of their lives are left without registration in birth registry books, and consequently without many other rights. 

The competent institutions have been neglecting this problem for years and ignoring the recommendations of numerous international bodies that point out that this situation is unacceptable, that every child, regardless of whether the parents have documents, must be registered immediately after birth and that it is necessary to change the by-laws that prevent timely registration. 

In the application, Praxis also pointed out that there was no effective legal remedy in Serbia that could eliminate the violation of this right, since the Constitutional Court had repeatedly refused to establish that the impossibility of immediate birth registration constituted a violation of children’s rights. 

In the event that the European Court of Human Rights determines that there has been a violation of rights in this case, it could be a turning point that would finally end the continuous violations of the child's right to timely birth registration and enable every child to have access to all rights and to enjoy the protection provided by registration in registry books.

Praxis je, u saradnji sa Evropskom mrežom za pitanja apatrdije, u okviru četvrtog ciklusa Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda, Savetu za ljudska prava Ujedinjenih nacija podneo izveštaj o problemima sa kojima se u Srbiji suočavaju lica u riziku od apatridije.

U izveštaju se ukazuje na probleme koje u vezi sa upisom u matičnu knjigu rođenih, sticanjem državljanstva, prijavom prebivališta  i pristupom besplatnoj pravnoj pomoći imaju pripadnici romske nacionalne manjine.

Posebno se ističe to da se u Srbiji i dalje rađaju deca koja ne mogu odmah nakon rođenja da se upišu u matičnu knjigu rođenih, a da su i  postupci naknadnog upisa opterećeni brojnim preprekama i nepravilnostima. Takođe se naglašava da sticanje državljanstva po osnovu rođenja u Srbiji najčešće nije usklađeno sa domaćim i međunarodnim propisima, da mnogi građani, i to pre svega interno raseljena lica sa Kosova, ne mogu da prijave prebivalište u mestu gde žive, kao i da je ostvarivanje besplatne pravne pomoći povezano sa mnogim teškoćama.

U okviru prethodnih ciklusa Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda, države članice Ujedinjenih nacija Srbiji su već uputile preporuke da preduzme mere koje će omogućiti svakom detetu upis u matičnu knjigu rođenih odmah po rođenju, da je potrebno da se interno raseljenim licima olakša integracija - što podrazumeva i pravilnu primenu Zakona o prebivalištu i boravištu građana – a upućen je i niz preporuka koje se odnose na sprečavanje diskriminacije Roma, na omogućavanje njihove integracije i na poštovanje ljudskih i manjinskih prava.

Srbije je prihvatila ove preporuke, ali njihova realizacija je do sada izostala. Tako i dalje majke koje nemaju lične dokumente ne mogu svoju novorođenu decu da upišu u matične knjige odmah po rođenju, mnoga interno raseljena lica više od 20 godina žive u mestima gde ne uspevaju da prijave prebivalište, a Romi su i dalje jedna od najdiskriminisanijih, najobespravljenijih i najmarginalizovanijih grupa.

Praxis i Evropska mreža za pitanja apatridije iznele su u svom izveštaju preporuke čija primena bi ovakvu situaciju mogla znatno da poboljša, a mnogim pripadnicima romske manjine omogućila bi pristup pravima koja su im zbog neposedovanja ličnih dokumenata trenutno nedostupna.

U okviru aktivnosti socijalne inkluzije za devojčice iz Novog Sada organizovan je izlet na Palić. Kako su sve učesnice prvi put u životu bile na jednom ovakvom izletu, pripremu izleta je pratila i priprema cele grupe za jedno novo iskustvo. U danima pred realizaciju izleta devojčice su imale brojna pitanja o izletu, koji je za neke od njih ujedno značio i prvo odvajanje od ukućana. U grupi se osećalo uzbuđenje i radost zbog novih iskustava.

Od samog pokreta ka Paliću grupa se ujedinila i opustila, a telefoni su korišćeni samo kako bi se pustila omiljena pesma. U zoološkom vrtu svi u grupi su vodili računa jedni o drugima i zajednički iskazivali uzbuđenje zbog divne prirode i životinja, od kojih su neke videle po prvi put u životu. Posetu zoološkom vrtu učesnice su beležile fotografijama i video klipovima sa životinjama koje su odmah delile sa najbližima. Nakon obilaska Palića i zoološkog vrta, i ručka u restoranu, usledio je raspevan povratak u Novi Sad, tokom koga su se sumirali utisci jednog lepo provedenog dana.

Posebnu zahvalnost za realizaciju ovog događaja dugujemo našim saradnicama Zorici Kalanjoš i Hajriji Adžemi.

Ova aktivnost socijalne inkluzije realizovana je u okviru projekta „Prevencija i eliminacija dečjih brakova u Srbiji“ koji finansiraju Ambasada Kraljevine Holandije u Srbiji i Ministarstvo za ekonomsku saradnju i razvoj Savezne Republike Nemačke (BMZ) u okviru programa Nemačke razvojne saradnje „Inkluzija Roma i drugih marginalizovanih grupa u Srbiji“.

U nedelji za nama posetili smo Palić sa grupom devojčica iz Čantavira i Subotice, a sam izlet je bio prilika za druženje i razgovor o o različitim životnim opcijama i mogućnostima, kao i za podizanje svesti romskih devojčica kako bi u u potpunosti bile društveno uključene i ravnopravni članovi društva. Mnogim devojčicama je ovo bio prvi put da posećuju ovu turističku atrakciju, a nekoliko devojčica se prvi put vozilo autobusom, te im je i ovaj deo današnjeg dana predstavljao novo iskustvo i izazvao dodatan utisak.

Deca su vidno bila oduševljena Palićem, a nakon obilaska jezera i ručka, posetili smo zoološki vrt, gde su uživali u prirodi u kojoj je sam vrt smešten. U vrtu raste preko 270 vrsta drveća od kojih su mnoga retke i egzotične vrste, poput libanskog kedra i džinovske sekvoje ili ariša. Deluje kao je preko 65 vrsta životinja smešteno u prirodno okruženje, barijere su teško vidljive, te je dečji utisak bio autentičniji i jači. Nakon što su nekoliko puta obišle ceo zoo vrt, učesnice su preostalo vreme iskoristile na igralištu koje postoji u samom vrtu.

Devojčice koje su bile na ovoj aktivnosti su se dodatno zbližile. Smatramo da su radionice i ovakve aktivnosti u kojima se direktno radi sa decom i osluškuju njihovi problemi, potrebe i želje najbolji način da se deci priđe i utiče na njihovo ponašanje. Većina devojčica iz ove grupe od svojih porodica ne može očekivati da im upriliče jedan ovakav dan, zato je potrebno da društvo i organizacije koje imaju sluha i sredstava reaguju i iskoriste svoja sredstva i resurse da uključe ove devojčice u sve prilike koje društvo nudi. Posebno se zahvaljujemo našoj saradnici Klaudiji Kurini i Udruženju Roma Ači.

Ova aktivnost socijalne inkluzije realizovana je u okviru projekta „Prevencija i eliminacija dečjih brakova u Srbiji“ koji finansiraju Ambasada Kraljevine Holandije u Srbiji i Ministarstvo za ekonomsku saradnju i razvoj Savezne Republike Nemačke (BMZ) u okviru programa Nemačke razvojne saradnje „Inkluzija Roma i drugih marginalizovanih grupa u Srbiji“.

Proveli smo predivan dan u druženju i uživali u prirodnim lepotama Zaltibora sa devojčicama iz Kragujevca, koje su u proteklih par meseci učestvovale u socioedukativnim radionicama na temu prevencije dečjih brakova. Pored toga što su imale priliku da izaberu destinaciju i da pozovu ostale dugarice i drugare sa kojima žele da provedu dan, devojčice su preuzele obavezu da sazovu sastanak sa roditeljima, predstave plan izleta i prikupe potrebne saglasnosti od njih tako da su dale značajan doprinos i samoj organizaciji. Posebnu zahvalnost za realizaciju ovog događaja dugujemo našoj dugogodišnjoj saradnici Emini Nikolić, i svakako organizaciji Romanipen iz Kragujevca.

Posetili smo Stopića pećinu koja je jedna od najuređenijih pećina u Srbiji i istovremeno zaštićeno prirodno dobro od izuzetnog značaja, muzej na otvorenom Staro selo u mestu Sirogojno, vodopad u Gostilju koji se ubraja u najviše prirodne vodopade u Srbiji i atraktivni El Paso City i zaista zanimljive ambijentalne celine koje se u njemu nalaze. Deca do sada nisu imala priliku da posete ove sadržaje tako da su zaista uživali i stekli nova iskustva i utiske.

Dan smo iskoristili da se družimo, da razgovaramo o planovima za budućnost i mogućnostima koje imaju pred sobom u pogledu daljeg razvoja i da utičemo na jačanje svesti o značaju obrazovanja i sticanja veština na putu njihovog ličnog i ekonomskog osamostaljivanja.

Ova aktivnost socijalne inkluzije realizovana je u okviru projekta „Prevencija i eliminacija dečjih brakova u Srbiji“ koji finansiraju Ambasada Kraljevine Holandije u Srbiji i Ministarstvo za ekonomsku saradnju i razvoj Savezne Republike Nemačke (BMZ) u okviru programa Nemačke razvojne saradnje „Inkluzija Roma i drugih marginalizovanih grupa u Srbiji“.

U okviru aktivnosti socijalne inkluzije za romske devojčice iz Vranja organizovan je događaj u okviru koga smo posetili zoološki vrt „Mišić“ u mestu Dulan koje je udaljeno 8 km od Vranja. Devojčice iz Vranja i okoline, njih 18 koliko ih je bilo na ovom izletu, do sada nisu imale priliku da posete zoološki vrt, niti da prisustvuju nekom ovako organizovanom događaju. Devojčice su bile oduševljene konjima, zebrom, majmunima i drugim životinjama, od kojih su neke videle po prvi put uživo u ovom zoološkom vrtu.

Aktivnost socijalne inkluzije doprinela je da učesnice aktivno učestvuju u ovom dogadjaju. Devojčice su nam prenele da se do sada nisu međusobno družile van svoje zajednice i škole i da bi volele da imaju još ovakvih prilika da posete različita mesta u okolini Vranja, učestvuju u sličnim aktivnostima i nastave druženje. Posle obilaska zooloskog vrta, organizovan je ručak u restoranu koji je u sklopu zooloskog vrta.

Posebnu zahvalnost za realizaciju ovog događaja dugujemo našoj saradnici Marini Damjanovski i udruženju Glas Vranja.

Ova aktivnost socijalne inkluzije realizovana je u okviru projekta „Prevencija i eliminacija dečjih brakova u Srbiji“ koji finansiraju Ambasada Kraljevine Holandije u Srbiji i Ministarstvo za ekonomsku saradnju i razvoj Savezne Republike Nemačke (BMZ) u okviru programa Nemačke razvojne saradnje „Inkluzija Roma i drugih marginalizovanih grupa u Srbiji“.