INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND (POSSIBLE) WEAKNESSES OF THE RATIFICATION PROCESS

Todić Dragoljub (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd), d.todic@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

The paper points out the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (RS) which define the basic elements of importance for the understanding of the place that international agreements have in the legal system of the RS. Furthermore, it discusses the existing regulations governing the RS process of ratification of international treaties. Firstly, it provides the general normative framework analysing the weaknesses of the current system of preparation and adoption of legislation (until the adoption of the law at the Government session). Two criteria are taken for the analysis: the ability of public participation in this process and the availability of information and documents as a prerequisite for public participation. According to the author, the weak points in the existing procedures have been stressed. These are the absence of clear rules concerning the guarantees of public participation in the preparation and adoption of regulations (including the ratification of international treaties) and the lack of guarantees of the transparency of the procedure, the absence of the regulatory impact assessment and realistic assessment of the possibilities and interests of the RS. The main thesis, which is discussed in the paper, is that the current regulatory framework governing the process of ratification of international treaties does not allow for adequate public participation and observation of the effects of the international agreements that are ratified.

Keywords: international agreements, process of ratification of international treaties, process of preparation and adoption of regulations, regulatory impact assessment, public participation, access to information, Aarhus Convention, Republic of Serbia, European Union