The Legislative Committee has deferred its decision on the Bill regarding Amendments to the Law on Public Gatherings and Public Events until there is clarification on the law’s text, due to uncertainties present in certain sections.

This update was provided by President Dragan Bojović during a session attended exclusively by members of the ruling majority, with opposition representatives absent.

“Following our recent consultations, we’ve agreed to further refine the law’s text and align it through amendment processes, guided by the Legislative Committee’s report. We will reconvene or continue the session on this item once the amendments and additional clarifications are available,” Bojović stated.

The suggested amendments to the Law on Public Gatherings and Public Events, introduced by the ruling party’s members, entail a ban on obstructing highways, expressways, major, regional, or local roads, and border crossings if such protests disrupt traffic and citizens’ movement.

Penalties ranging from €500 to €10,000 are anticipated for non-compliance.

This proposal for regulation amendments is co-signed by Seid Hodžić of the Europe Now Movement, Duško Stjepović (Democrats), Jelena Kljajević (DNP), Dejan Đurović (NSD), and Bogdan Božović (SNP).

During discussions, European Now Movement MP Darko Dragović expressed “certain reservations” regarding the proposal, despite its good intentions.

He highlighted that Article 52 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of peaceful assembly without prior permission, only requiring notification to relevant authorities. He noted that while the Constitution allows for the restriction of assembly, such measures must be temporary and decided on a case-by-case basis by state authorities.

“The Constitution allows for temporary restrictions, not permanent ones, which leads to the implication that a state authority’s decision is required in specific situations. This bill, in its current form, appears to impose a permanent ban on gatherings on critical roads, which is inconsistent with the Constitution,” Dragović elaborated.

He emphasized the need to define the procedures and competent authorities responsible for determining whether a gathering would obstruct traffic or endanger public movement, asserting that this clarity is absent in the proposed bill.

“If we fail to specify the body responsible for enforcing the ban and the procedures for such decisions, we risk creating a permanent assembly ban, contrary to the Constitution’s stipulation that assembly freedoms can only be temporarily restricted,” he added.

Dragović called for revisions to the bill to ensure greater clarity and suggested that local roads be exempt from the prohibitions.

Democratic MP Duško Stjepčević acknowledged some agreement with Dragović’s positions on temporary restrictions and expressed openness to revising the legislation.

“However, currently there isn’t provision for temporary restrictions in these regulations. It’s crucial that protests respect the rights of others,” he mentioned.

The Committee for Political System, Judiciary and Administration also postponed this agenda item to the next session “for technical reasons.”

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