Civil books and the civil registry in Serbia: between tradition and digital innovation

Novaković Marko (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd), marko@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

The author analyses the institutional and technological framework for the digitisation of civil records in the Republic of Serbia, with a special focus on the Draft Law on the Civil Registry. The introduction provides a brief overview of the historical development of civil registry books, the current legal regulations, and the challenges of the existing hybrid system in which records are kept in parallel in paper and electronic form. Then, the new concept of civil registry keeping, which brings the introduction of a single Civil Registry, is discussed in detail. This solution implies the complete abandonment of paper books and transition to a centralised electronic status profile of citizens. Special attention is paid to comparative legal analysis, with an emphasis on the practices of Estonia, a country recognised as a leader in the field of digital governance in Europe, and Austria, a long-standing member of the European Union with a legal system similar to that of Serbia, which has successfully implemented the digitalisation of civil status records. The paper aims to outline the importance of this reform not only for the efficiency and transparency of public administration but also for strengthening legal certainty, improving the protection of personal data, and preserving historical and cultural heritage in the digital environment.

Keywords: Civil Registry, digitalisation, status profile, public administration, legal security, Austria, Estonia, GDPR