Posted on 12/07/2002 3:33:19 PM PST by Dragonfly
The Constitutional Charter | 19:13 | FoNet
BELGRADE -- Saturday – Serbia and Montenegro is the name of the new state union, which is he combination of two equal state members, namely the state of Montenegro, and that of Serbia.
The latter includes the two autonomous regions of Vojvodina and Kosovo, currently under international administration according to Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council.
In the new charter, the border between Serbia and Montenegro has been fixed, and cannot be altered without agreement from both parties.
A citizen of one of the member states is at once a citizen of Serbia and Montenegro. Citizens have the same rights in each state of the new union, except that of the right to vote.
Serbia and Montenegro will have one president to cover both states, as well as one parliament, one council of ministers, one army and court.
The combined state will not have a main city, but Belgrade is to be the administrative centre, where the seat of parliament and the Council of ministers are to be situated, whilst the main court will be in Podgorica, Montenegro.
The parliament will have one house, and be comprised of 126 representatives, 91 from Serbia and 35 from Montenegro. They will have 4 year mandates, and will be elected from each state according to European, democratic standards on the basis of state laws.
During the first two years, representatives will be elected indirectly from the Serbian and Montenegrin parliaments, and from the federal parliaments.
The president and vice-president of the new union of Serbia and Montenegro will be elected by these representatives. These positions cannot both be occupied by citizens of the same state at one time. These offices last four years.
Bills of parliament will be passed when backed by a majority of the total number of representatives, provided that the majority of the representatives from both member-states vote.
Serbia and Montenegro’s representation in international organisations will be rotated from one member-state to the other.
Yugoslav property abroad will become the property of Serbia and Montenegro, whilst the property of the individual member-states will remain their own.
The army of Serbia and Montenegro will be under democratic and civil control.
Recruitments for compulsory military service will serve in the territory of the member-state, with the possibility of serving in the other member-state, according to their own volition.
The court of Serbia and Montenegro is to be regarded as one court, and judges will be selected by the union parliament for 6-year positions.
After three years, the member-states have the right to leave this union of states, provided the decision takes place after a referendum.
A member-state which takes advantage of this right does not receive international law subjectivity. In the case of Montenegro dropping out of the union, international documents relating to Yugoslavia, especially UN Security council Resolution 1244, would be valid for Serbia as successor. In the case of both states seeking independence, all questions arising out of the process of succession will be regulated as they were in the former Yugoslavia.
The Charter and the interests of everyone | 19:43 | FoNet
BELGRADE -- Saturday – Serbian president Vojislav Kostunica announced on Friday evening that the agreement on the Constitutional charter has spared the state community.
With this decision, “everyone will profit, whilst if we had not reached an agreement, all those concerned would have lost out,” said Kostunica.
“I don’t think anyone would reproach me for being proud of this achievement because I believe that from the start bothe peoples have a mutual need for one another. Our histories, cultures and fates are interlinked,” said Kostunica.
Kostunica was very pleased that the commission completed the text of the charter. Since that neither side could be completely satisfied, as both had had to accept compromises, he feels that the commission deserves recognition for completing such a huge and task.
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