The Minister of Justice, Mr. Nikola Selaković, opened today a public hearing on Preliminary Draft Civil Code of the Republic of Serbia, emphasizing that it is a huge undertaking in the field of legislation in the legal tradition of Serbia, maybe the biggest since 1844, year of the adoption of the first Serbian Civil Code.  

The public hearing on the Preliminary Draft Civil Code shall last one year with the aim to determine the stands of the society and academic community on the series of novelties mentioned in the proposals, inter alia, on the justifiability of introducing euthanasia, surrogate maternity, and the like. The goal of every society, emphasized the Minister, is the creation of a unique, modern and harmonised legal system as the foundation of the rule of law and legal security of all civil law subjects. 

“They are completely justified and basic motifs for drafting the Serbian Civil Code, where exercising and protection of the Constitutional right to human dignity and considerably expanded rights of of individuals dominate in the whole Preliminary Draft Civil Code text”, stated  Selaković at a University of Belgrade Faculty of Law gathering.  “The beginning of public hearing on the Civil Code is of utmost importance for our country”, said Selaković and emphasised that the decision on the necessary codification of the civil law legal material was made in 2006 and that the current Government by no means does want to take all the credit for such huge undertaking of national interest.

He emphasised that the Preliminary Draft of the future Civil Code is the result of endeavours of several Serbian Governments to give back to Serbia the role it deserves in the European legislation scene.  Selaković mentioned the Serbian codification legal tradition, inter alia stating that the only European countries which had their Civil Codes before Serbia were France, Austria and Netherlands.

"Civil Code is of utmost importance for the legal stability of the country for it survived and was applied for more than one century, until 1946, when upon establishment of FNRY (Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia) the Law on Voidenss of Acts Adopted Before 6 April 1941 during the Enemy Occupation was adopted", said Selaković and emphasized that he thinks that this act should be called "The Serbian Civil Code". “I don’t see why not”, added Selaković.  

Minister Selaković said that it is quite understandable, under the influence of strong tradition, why Serbia has commenced in the 21st century to develop a modern Civil Code; however, as he pointed out, tradition is not the only motif for the codification of the civil law legislation in Serbia, and the main reasons are primarily the need and necessity to bring up to date the civil law and regulate it in a comprehensive, unique and mutually adjusted manner.  

"This requirement can be fulfilled more successfully if it is the result of work of the same lawmaker able to understand and consider simultaneously and in a unique manner the whole civil law field. We are all witnesses of dynamic legislative activity of Serbia in the past two decades, having both good and bad consequences reflected in numerous mutually unharmonised regulations", said Selaković.