Abstract ▼

The paper analyzes the significant role of the rule of law in the context of European integration of the Republic of Serbia. Firstly, it provides an insight into how the idea of the rule of law over the decades has emerged as one of the fundamental values within the European Union, primarily through the founding treaties and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. Then it is analyzed how the rule of law has become a key parameter and priority in the European Union\'s enlargement policy, which is particularly evident from the Enlargement Strategy 2011-2012, which introduces a new approach to the negotiations for Chapters 23 and 24, as well as from the Western Balkan Strategy. The new approach was also applied to negotiations with the Republic of Serbia. Due to that, before the opening of Chapters 23 and 24, the Republic of Serbia had to adopt detailed action plans which revision is in progress at the moment. Analyzing the latest progress reports on the Republic of Serbia in the field of the rule of law, the author also addresses the question whether monitoring and evaluation mechanism established by the European Union provide a certainty that the achieved level of progress in the rule of law in the candidate country will be always properly assessed, independently of political factors, having in mind that the overall dynamics of the European integration depends on that assessment.

Abstract ▼

Lobbying is a political process which can contribute to decision making and increasing democracy. If lobbying is not transparent, it can raise doubts about the work of political institutions. The paper analyzes the Decision of the European Ombudsman in Case 1946/2018 /KR on how the General Secretariat of the Council informs the public about meetings that the European Council President and members of his private office have with interest representatives. In this case, insufficient disclosure of information regarding meetings of the President of the European Council with lobbyists had been noticed. Besides, there was no record regarding meetings between lobbyists and members of his private office. In this case, the European Ombudsman recommends keeping a full record of any meetings held between interest representatives and the President of the European Council and/or members of his cabinet. The record should contain information such as the date and location, the names of the persons and organisations present - and, where applicable, their clients – as well as the issues discussed. The European Council President and members of his office should only meet with or attend events organised by lobbyists registered in the Transparency Register. The paper also examines the transparency of other EU institutions, as well as mechanisms for improving Transparency Register. EU institutions are not equally transparent. This fact might raise doubts about their work in the future. The author concludes that practical recommendations for EU civil servants to consult if and when they are interacting with interest representatives issued by the European Ombudsman should have been applied and endorsed by EU institutions.

Abstract ▼

The informal process of amending the Serbian Constitution regarding the judiciary started in 2017 when the Ministry of Justice called on the representatives of the judicial profession and civil society to submit their proposals for amendments. Since then, various issues that have arisen during the process were debated and written about, but not the attitude of the courts and judges towards international law. Therefore, the paper reincarnates the discussion on what are generally accepted rules of international law and what is their position in the current Constitution, and what is the status of international law under the Constitution in general. Bearing in mind that the Constitution is changing in order to fulfil the conditions for the accession of Serbia to the European Union, it is important that the Constitution takes a clear stand towards the sources of international law and thus encourage judges to consider and apply international law continuously. However, it would be rather difficult to expect that from judges if the provision according to which judges apply generally accepted rules of international law was to be eliminated from the Constitution. Considering that the formal proposal for amending the Constitution was submitted only in November 2018, the paper seeks to point out the significance of the said provision and urges that solutions to the problems arise in the upcoming process.

Abstract ▼

The main aim of this paper was to analyze consumer policy in the European Union (EU) from its beginnings to the current state of consumer protection through consideration of the regulations adopted in the EU in the last decades, and their incorporation into the national legislations of the member states and candidate countries to join the EU. Considering the fact that the Republic of Serbia has entered the procedure of admission to the EU membership, it is necessary on this path to fully comply with the policies and regulations of the Union. Consumer protection has always been an area of great attention, interest and engagement. First of all, of the European Economic Community (EEC) and later its legal successor, the European Union (EU), with the aim of guaranteeing all consumers and users of services in the EU the same protection against risks and threats to their interests, as well as to increase their ability to protect their interests. There are several types of sources of law in the EU legislation, especially the Directives and Recommendations. In this paper, the Directive 2011/83 / EU on consumer rights has been analyzed. Since 2005, all EU directives have maximally protected consumer rights without exception. The importance of implementation of the consumer protection solution envisaged in the EU to the legal system of the Republic of Serbia was presented, too. The relevance and benefits of implementation into national legislation are in particular: better knowledge of consumers’ rights, which are fully informed and educated; consistent implementation of consumer protection regulations implemented by state bodies for protection and efficient out-of-court procedures with low costs; embedding consumers\' interests in significant sectoral policies, primarily in the energy, transport and services sector, telecommunications, digital technology, banking, etc. It can be noted that there is significant compliance of Serbian legislation, which protects consumers\' rights with EU regulations, however, all changes that are happening in this area in the EU should be followed, and the harmonization of Serbian policies and regulations with them should continue. It is particularly important to consistently apply the regulations to specific life situations in the domain of consumer protection and the construction of mechanisms, as well as the infrastructure for this application.

Abstract ▼

With globalization, intellectual property has become one of the most profitable activities, leading to increased competition and elevating the standard quality of intellectual goods. For such purposes, business enterprises started to hire creators, thus causing that most of intellectual goods are created under an employment relationship. Although as frequent as it is, it cannot be said that it is consistently regulated. On the contrary, this issue may be the most disputed nowadays. That is the result of the fact that neither solutions in the case of different intellectual goods are uniform on the domestic level, nor are domestic laws harmonized internationally. That is also the case with the European Union. To fully grasp the stance of the European Union on this issue, the author firstly analyzed the sources of law that cover Community design protection. Later on, the author moved on to the issues of interpretation of the current framework regulating the ownership over Community design under an employment relationship. In the end, the author presented the case-law of the European Court of Justice regarding this issue.