yugoslavias implosion

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ChApter 4
THE NEW CONSTITUTION SECURES
CONTINUITY FOR THE LEGAL SYSTEM
In October 2005, a new constitution was approved by fraud. The
constitutional referendum could have been an opportunity to define
Serbia as a decentralized, modern country adjusted to European
standards in terms of respecting international law. The constitution
of 2006, however, is backward – rather than forward-looking.
It is a reflection of the 1990 constitution, written so as to legalize
Milošević’s political and social practices and cements the centralized
concept of the state, thus preventing any kind of pluralization in
Serbian society. It is burdened by an authoritarian tradition and condenses
archaic and xenophobic policies. The constitution’s preamble,
affirming Kosovo as Serbia’s inalienable part, cements Serbia’s
refusal to recognize the new reality in Kosovo. The European Commission
for Democracy through Law (usually known as the Venice
Commission and established by the Council of Europe in 1990 to offer
advice on constitutional issues) has found that many segments of the
constitution do not conform to European constitutional standards . 529
Regarding the internal organization of Serbia, the questions of
Vojvodina, southern Serbia, and Sandžak are important aspects of
the minority issue. The pattern of the disintegration of Yugoslavia is
clearly visible within Serbia itself. As long as this pattern is in effect,
there can be no change in Serbia. In fact, the 2006 constitution denies
the idea of the complex state that is the precondition of democratization.
Any effort to decentralize is perceived as secessionism, irredentism,
or subversion.
529 The Venice Commission criticized the constitution for, among other things, being “extremely
rigid” and “nearly impossible to amend” in many parts; for its unclear and complicated
rules on restrictions on fundamental rights, and for its complicated rules on territorial
organization . http://www.b92.net/eng/news/in_focus.php?id=123&nav_id=40680&start=0