At the Roundtable, organized on 31st March 2008 by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government on the occasion of presenting the Draft Law on Registry Books, Praxis pointed out that neither the Draft Law, nor the existing Law on Registry books offer solutions for conducting an efficient and simple procedure of subsequent registration into registry books of persons who are not recognized before the law.

Praxis has also pointed out that present legally unbearable situation, i.e. the fact that there are dozens of thousands of “legally invisible” persons, mainly Roma, living in the country, has been occupying the attention of various international and non-governmental organisations, but that their efforts to solve the problems of “legally invisible” persons by submitting individual requests were usually futile. Records show that these procedures are complicated and inefficient, and their outcome uncertain.

In order to solve the problem of "legally invisible" persons in Serbia, Praxis emphasised that a systemic legal solution should be made. In that sense, it is necessary to enable the recognition of persons before the law in a simple and efficient procedure, which would not be burdened by numerous formal legal conditions, related to both the fact of birth itself, i.e. data on one’s birth, and proving of the same fact.

New legal solutions should strike the balance between the confronted interests and values: on one side, between the need for protection of legal certainty and the need for quick and efficient recognition before the law for a great number of “legally invisible” persons, and on the other side, between the need for respecting the competence of the bodies administering the registry books and the need for providing a court mechanism for protection of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Responding to Praxis’ comment, Milan Markovic, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, said that this issue should be regulated in a separate law and that it was not within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.

Taking into consideration that the public debate on the Draft Law on Registry Books was open during April, Praxis also addressed the Ministry by sending its comments on the Draft Law. In its written reply to Praxis, Ministry stated that the solutions offered in the Draft Law were based entirely on basic constitutional principles and that it prescribed the adoption of by-laws that would closely regulate the aforementioned issues as well, and ensure enforcement of the Law in practice, in a way which would enable the unimpeded enjoyment of right to register into birth registry books. 

We can only conclude that the existing Law provides the same solutions, but unfortunately no by-laws have been adopted which would help solving the problem of “legally invisible” persons, nor has much been done in regards to provision of unimpeded enjoyment of right to register into birth registry books of persons who had not done so within the legally prescribed deadline. The aforementioned only goes to show that the state has not expressed any willingness to solve the problem of "legally invisible" persons. 

Praxis attended the 61st Annual DPI/NGO Conference titled "Reaffirming Human Rights: The Universal Declaration at 60" at UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris from 3rd to 5th September 2008. Conference was organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Some of the goals of the  Conference are: to reflect on the challenges confronted by human rights organizations at the international, national and local levels and articulate measures to address those challenges; to identify the most effective ways in which civil society is yielding a positive impact on the respect for human rights, and acknowledge those contributions; to underscore the gap between existing policies for the protection and promotion of human rights and their implementation, and recommend ways to advance accountability.

Praxis’ Deputy Executive Director, Jasmina Mikovic, participated in the event and took active part at Midday NGO Workshop named “Defending the Right to Nationality: A Legal Toolkit for Tackling Statelessness” on Thursday, 4th September 2008. On this occasion, Ms Mikovic, as one of the speakers, held a presentation about Praxis’ work and efforts related to amending legislation to ensure equal rights to recogntiotion before the law and prevent statelessness in Serbia.

You can find more information on the Conference here.

Download: Praxis' Presentation

Model Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law was presented at a Press Conference, held in Media Center, Belgrade, on 20th May 2008. The Model Law was drafted by the legal experts from the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies, Belgrade, as part of the Praxis' project funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the US Department of State, with the support, professional knowledge and experience of UNHCR and Praxis, who are working on a daily basis on solving the problems of persons who are not recognized as persons before the law, as well as the OSCE Mission to Serbia who gave their comments and suggestions during formulating the final version of the Model Law.

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 states in Article 6 that "everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law." The issue of recognition of persons before the law has also found its place in the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, which prescribes in Article 37 that "every person has legal capacity".

However, according to some estimates, there are dozens of thousands of persons living in Serbia, mainly Roma, who are not recognized as persons before the law. From the legal standpoint, these persons do not exist, they are not registered into birth registry books, they are unable to enjoy their basic rights, right to health care and social welfare, right to education, they cannot participate in public life, vote, appear before courts, etc.

Experience of UNHCR, Praxis and other non-governmental organizations show that the procedures of subsequent registration into registry books of "legally invisible" persons last long and are complicated, and the outcome itself is uncertain. In most cases, state bodies refuse to recognize these persons before the law, arguing on the grounds of numerous legal regulations. According to the aforementioned, it can be concluded that it is necessary to come up with a systemic solution that would regulate the issue of subsequent registration into registry books of "legally invisible" persons.

The Centre for Advanced Legal Studies first made a comparative legal analysis of the solutions found by other countries that are also facing, or were facing, the same or similar problems, and then drafted the Model Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law. Subject of the Model Law are regulations referring to the procedure for recognition of persons before the law, in particular, the procedure of subsequent registration of the fact of birth into birth registry books on one side and, on the other side, the procedure for issuing a document which confirms the fact of birth before the competent court. The aim of these regulations would be providing recognition of of persons before the law in a simple and efficient procedure, which would not be burdened by numerous formal legal conditions, related to both the fact of birth itself and proving of the same fact.

The offered Model Law is certainly not sufficient to completely regulate legal status of persons who are not recognized before the law. Subsequent registration into birth registry books would only be the first, initial step in the process of full legal integration of these persons into society. In order to complete this process successfully, it is necessary to find a systemic solution in this field, make amendments to a whole set of laws which would regulate issues of permanent and temporary residence, citizen's unique personal number, issuance of ID cards, citizenship, exercising rights to health care and social welfare, etc.

Only when all obstacles that "legally invisible" persons encounter everyday in accessing their rights are removed, will the state be certain that it has fulfilled all its obligations in regards to providing equal enjoyment and protection of rights and freedoms to all persons living under its jurisdiction.

See the news from Media Center web site here.

Download (Serbian only): Model Law of the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law

Download: Bill of the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law

On November 11, 2008, UNHCR organized a press conference in Media Center, Belgrade, to mark six months since the beginning of implementation of the Project “Social Inclusion and Access to Human Rights for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities in the Western Balkans”, funded by the European Union, a project which is complementary to the UNICEF Project “Combating Social Exclusion: Universal Birth Registration in Serbia”.

On that occasion, Lennart Kotsalainen, UNHCR Representative in Serbia, Oliver Petrovic, UNICEF Early Childhood Development Specialist, Ivanka Kostic, Praxis’ Executive Director, and Dejan Bajramovic, Roma Coordinator from the Municipality of Vranje spoke about the achieved results in the Project implementation. Talking about the problems of the Roma, Mr Kotsalainen said that without documents and civil registration the Roma would be continuously marginalized and would not be able to integrate into society. He also pointed out two components of the Project, i.e. information campaign and free legal assistance, the latter being implemented by Praxis, UNHCR’s implementing partner in this Project. Mr Oliver Petrovic has said that registration into birth registry book is a basic human right of all children, which enables them to access other rights, such as rights to health care and social welfare, education, etc, and, in a way, provides them with protection of the State from the threat of being abused, forced to work or involved in the criminal activities. He emphasised that 5% of Roma children in Serbia were not registered at birth.

Out of 20 municipalities in which the Project is being implemented, information campaign and field activities have been performed in 11 municipalities so far: Sabac, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Vranje, Lebane, Vladicin Han, Krusevac, Prokuplje, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin and Pozarevac.

Ivanka Kostic, Praxis Executive Director, presented the results achieved in the first 6 months of the Project implementation and pointed to the examples of good practice of state bodies, but also on the problems “legally invisible” persons face in accessing their rights. In the above-mentioned 11 municipalities, Praxis visited a total of 36 Roma settlements, submitted 138 requests for re-registration and subsequent registration into registry books and identified additional 128 persons (115 children and 14 adults) for whom it is necessary to initiate the procedures of subsequent registration into birth registry books. So far, a total of 39 requests for re-registration/subsequent registration have been sold, i.e. 31 children and 8 adults have been registered into registry books. Praxis also submitted a total of 1,476 requests for issuance of personal documents for parents, out of which 1,209 requests have been successfully solved.

Ivanka Kostic has emphasised once again that it is necessary to find a systemic solution for the issue of “legally invisible” persons, which particularly affects Roma population, and pointed again to the Model Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law, drafted by the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies in cooperation with UNHCR and Praxis, and supported by the BPRM, OSCE and UNICEF. This Model Law prescribes a simple procedure for recognition of “legally invisible” persons before the law and, at the moment, there is an ongoing public debate regarding its adoption, organized by the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia.

You can download the list of administrative fees for obtaining documents from registry offices in Serbia administering dislocated registry books from Kosovo here.

Press conference, organized in May 2008 in Media Center, Belgrade, officially marked the beginning of implementation of projects “Social Inclusion and Access to Human Rights for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities in the Western Balkans” and “Combating Social Exclusion: Universal Birth  Registration in Serbia”, funded by the EU through UNHCR and UNICEF respectively. Non-governmental organization Praxis is the chief implementing partner of UNHCR and UNICEF in both projects.

The aim of the projects is to enable social inclusion of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities (RAE), as well as other marginalized groups, and, thus, enable them to access their basic civil rights. The focus is on the most vulnerable members of RAE population, especially children, women and the elderly.

According to official data, a total of 108,000 Roma live in the Republic of Serbia, even though some estimates suggest that that number is as high as 500,000. At the same time, there are 22,965 RAE officially registered as IDPs, even though it is assumed that that number is much higher, since many of them were unable to register their status upon leaving Kosovo due to lack of documents.

As an integral part of project activities, UNHCR, UNICEF and Praxis conduct information campaign with the aim to raise awareness, educate and inform members of RAE communities, as well as to point to the local and central authorities and domestic population to the need and importance of registration into birth registry book and possession of personal documents. The campaign is conducted in 20 selected municipalities in Serbia, and the teams composed of representatives of UNICEF, UNHCR, Praxis, the Secretariat for Roma National Strategy and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy visit these municipalities and have meetings with local Roma organizations, Roma coordinators, representatives of municipal authorities and local institutions.

In addition, Praxis provides free legal assistance, information and counselling to members of RAE population in the field in relation to obtaining documents and initiating procedures of re-registration and subsequent registration into registry books, which has been identified as a problem particularly affecting RAE population.

Out of the planned 20 municipalities, the Project has so far been implemented in Sabac, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Vranje, Lebane, Vladicin Han, Krusevac, Prokuplje, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Pozarevac, Obrenovac and Subotica. By June 2009, Praxis legal mobile teams will also visit Roma settlements in Smederevo, Stara Pazova, Zvezdara, Kursumlija, Bujanovac, Aleksinac and Novi Beograd.

By mid-January 2009, Praxis legal mobile teams visited 56 Roma settlements in 13 municipalities. Praxis identified a total of 347 persons who are not registered into birth registry books, while 182 requests for subsequent registration have been submitted. A total of 1,538 requests for personal documents have also been submitted, out of which 1300 requests have been solved already.

Activities performed so far and the situation that we have come across in the field once again confirms that the problem of these persons needs to be solved systematically, and all the relevant stakeholders engaged in the matter immediately. Together with the UNHCR, OSCE Mission in Serbia, the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Praxis has been putting efforts towards finding a systemic solution for the problems of “legally invisible” persons. For that purpose, upon initiative and with the support from Praxis, UNHCR and BPRM, the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies drafted a Model Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law, using Praxis experience in working on individual cases and encountered obstacles in accessing right to be recognized as a person before the law. The aim of the Model Law is to enable recognition of persons before the law in a simple and efficient procedure, which would not be burdened by numerous formal legal conditions, which the present legal framework does not provide.

As a support to the Model Law, Praxis published a collection of cases from practice entitled "Legally Invisible Persons in Seven Stories", which, through describing different life situations in actual cases, shows the extent of the problem and consequences of not being recognized before the law.

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Djeljana, Nadjija and Alija Case
No evidence, therefore, no existence

Djeljana is 16 years old and lives in Subotica with her 25-year-old sister Nadjija and 23-year-old brother Alija. They were all born out of wedlock, at home in Vucitrn, Kosovo, and are not registered into birth registry book. They fled from Kosovo with their parents in 1999, and have been living in Serbia ever since, without permanent address. The parents died in displacement, but the children do not know the exact date and place of their death. They only speak Romani language and they support themselves by collecting and selling raw material.

At the end of 2008, they addressed Praxis for legal assistance.

Unfortunately, Djeljana, Nadjija and Alija do not possess evidence needed for initiating procedures of subsequent registration into registry book before an administrative body. In addition, they cannot seek protection of their rights before court, by initiating a lawsuit for determining maternity and paternity, since their parents are deceased.

It is obvious that the existing regulations do not offer solutions for subsequent registration of the fact of birth for Djeljana, Nadjija and Alija. They can only wait until this issue is legally regulated.

Legally Invisible Persons in Seven Stories – Praxis publication, October 2008

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The present situation is not only unbearable for thousands of people who cannot exercise their basic rights due to lack of documents, but also for the country. In that respect, it is important to mention some of the recommendations of the international bodies. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has requested from Serbia to enable every child born on its territory to register into birth registry books, especially the children of Roma nationality and children whose parents are IDPs (CRC/C/SRB/CO/1, 6 June 2008). Within Council of Europe, the attention has also been brought to the problem of “legally invisible” persons. In its first report about Serbia, which was adopted by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance on 14 December 2007, the Serbian state bodies are requested to enable the persons of Roma nationality to efficiently obtain personal documents.

By adopting the Model Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law, this legally unbearable situation in Serbia could be overcome. For that purpose, the priority in the current year will be to intensify the advocacy activities and lobbying for the adoption of the Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the Law.

This text was published in the magazine Pravi odgovor, No. 128, dated 27 January 2009 (page 24).

See the news on the Press Conference at the UNICEF web site .

Download (Serbian only): Pravi odgovor, no. 128

Download: Legally Invisible Persons in Seven Stories

As of 15 February 2009, a document on the grounds of which internally displaced persons from Kosovo exercise their rights from health insurance is a health booklet. This means that the branches of the Republic Institute for Health Insurance, on the territory of which IDPs have temporary residence registered, issue health booklets instead of “Certificates for accessing health care and other rights from health insurance for temporarily displaced persons from the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.” The competent branch verifies health booklets for a period of 6 months, while the certificates were verified every 3 months.

After 10 years in displacement, internally displaced persons will be able to exercise their rights from health insurance on the grounds of a health booklet, on an equal basis with other citizens of Serbia.

Two months after the Instruction of the Ministry of Health came into force, the instruction which granted IDPs the above-mentioned right, branches of the Republic Institute for Health Insurance started issuing health booklets. According to information obtained from the Republic Institute, certificate for accessing health care and other rights from health insurance for temporarily displaced persons from the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, or IDP card if one does not possess this certificate, then confirmation on registered temporary residence and ID card should all be enclosed with the request for issuance of health booklet. In the procedure for issuance of a health booklet, even though an insured person possesses the aforementioned evidence, the competent branch of the Republic Institute is authorised to ask for other evidence, in case one fulfils conditions to be insured on their own in accordance with the Article 17 of the Law on Health Insurance (e.g. on the grounds of employment, independent work, acquiring pension after displacement, etc).

Persons who do not have registered temporary residence

Article 22 of the Law on Heath Insurance explicitly prescribes that persons of Roma nationality who do not have permanent or temporary residence registered due their traditional way of life may be beneficiaries of health protection. The legislator had undoubtedly had the intention to enable this category of persons to access health care. This provision of the Law can without doubt be applied to internally displaced persons of Roma nationality who do not have registered permanent or temporary residence.

Article 6 of the Rules of Procedure on way and procedure of exercise of rights from mandatory health insurance, however, derogates the application of this legal rule by stating that the insured must provide a personal statement that he/she is a person of Roma nationality, as well as his/her registration of temporary residence. In this way, persons who do not have their residence registered, for instance due to the fact that they live in an illegal Roma settlement - which is often the case with Roma IDPs - are actually deprived of the rights from health insurance, and exercise of the legal right to using health care services.

Download (Serbian only): News from March 2009 published in Pravi odgovor, page 14

Jasmina Mikovic, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, gave a statement for the magazine Ilustrovana politika on the problem of legally invisible persons in the text "People Who Do not Exist", as of 8 October 2009.

Text "Without documents - target for criminals", published in the daily newspaper Danas on 21 December 2009, following interviews with Jasmina Mikovic, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, and Sasa Gajin from the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies, in relation to "legally invisible" persons can be downloaded here.

As in the previous publication Legally Invisible Persons in Seven Stories, published in October 2008 , we would like to point once again to actual cases from practice which clearly indicate the need for adoption of a separate law that would regulate the procedure of recognition of persons before the law with the aim to overcome the present legally unbearable situation. By presenting their cases and real life stories, as well as by making efforts towards recognition of every person before the law, we aim to give the “legally invisible” persons the voice they do not have and motivate the authorities to act in full compliance with their powers and obligations.

Download: Legally Invisible Persons in Serbia - the State Must Take over the Responsibility