RS Official Gazette, nos.

18/92, 45/2002

LAW ON REFUGEES
Article 1 Pursuant to the provisions of this Law, care shall be provided to Serbs and citizens of other nationalities, who were forced, on account of the pressure from the Croatian authorities, or the authorities of other republics, a threat of genocide, as well as persecution and discrimination on the grounds of their religion and nationality or political opinion, to leave their places of residence in those republics and take refuge in the territory of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: refugees), for the purpose of meeting their basic subsistence needs and providing them social security. The Republic of Serbia shall provide care to refugees pending the creation of conditions for their return to the places of origin, i.e. pending the creation of conditions for their durable social security. Refugee status shall be determined in keeping with the provisions of this Law.

Article 2 The provision of care to refugees shall include organized reception, temporary accommodation, aid in food, appropriate health care and material and other assistance. Refugees shall have the rights to employment and education, in keeping with the law, and they shall have the duty to do military 1 service, i.e. fulfill the labor obligation, on the same terms as citizens of the Republic of Serbia. Refugees shall exercise the rights and discharge the duties referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article in the places of their habitual residence in the Republic of Serbia.
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By the Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia IU No. 18/94 ("Official Gazzette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 45/2002 and "Official Journal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", No. 42/2002), it was established that the provision of the Article 2 Para 2, the part military is not in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and with the Convention on the Statuse of Refugees ("Official Journal of the Federal Pepoples Republic of Yugoslavia", No. 7/60)

The manner and scope of the provision of care to refugees shall be prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Government).

Article 3 Refugees shall be provided care by the competent republican authority and relevant bodies and other organizational forms in the Autonomous Provinces, municipalities and the city of Belgrade. Direct assistance to refugees may be afforded by the Organization of the Red Cross, further humanitarian, religious and other organizations and by individuals, in conformity with their objectives, i.e. interests. Article 4 The Republic of Serbia shall ensure collective protection of personal, property and other rights and freedoms of refugees and secure their international legal protection in the manner prescribed for its citizens. Article 5 Professional and other tasks associated with the provision of care to refuges, as prescribed by this Law, and related administrative tasks, shall be carried out by the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees, as a separate organization (hereinafter: the Office of the Commissioner). The competent authorities in the Autonomous Provinces, the city of Belgrade and municipalities shall perform professional tasks related to the provision of care to refugees. The executive committees of the assemblies of the Autonomous Provinces, the city of Belgrade and municipalities shall set up specialized bodies for the performance of organizational and other tasks related to the provision of care to refugees in their respective territories. The executive councils in municipalities and the city of Belgrade, i.e. the executive committees in the Autonomous Provinces, shall designate liaison officers, serving as liaisons with the Office of the Commissioner and performing certain tasks for the Office of the Commissioner (hereinafter: commissioners). Article 6 The Office of the Commissioner shall perform tasks related to: refugee status determination; provision of care to refugees; keeping of the records as laid down in this

Law; coordination of assistance provided to refugees by other bodies and organizations in the country and abroad and evenhanded and timely distribution of the said assistance; provision of accommodation, i.e. placement of refugees in the areas of territorial units; creation of conditions for return of refugees to their places of origin or other places as may be determined by the Office of the Commissioner, pending the finding of a durable solution for them in another manner, and perform other tasks falling within its competences as set out in this Law. In accordance with the provisions of international conventions ratified by Yugoslavia, which govern the status and rights of refugees, the Office of the Commissioner shall launch initiatives to seek international aid for providing care to refugees in the territory of the Republic of Serbia from agencies of the United Nations, and other organizations engaged in provision of international assistance. In the performance of tasks related to the provision of care to refugees the Office of the Commissioner shall have the status of a legal entity. The Office of the Commissioner shall cooperate with the Organization of the Red Cross, humanitarian, religious and other organizations and citizens. Article 7 The operation of the Office of the Commissioner shall be managed by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall have a Deputy who shall perform the duties of the Commissioner in case of his/her absence or incapacity. The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner shall be appointed by the Government for a period of four years. Article 8 Temporary accommodation and aid in food to refugees, which cannot be secured by placing them in households where conditions are in place to do so, shall be provided by organizing collective or individual accommodation in facilities and institutions specially designated for that purpose. The Office of the Commissioner shall decide upon temporary accommodation. The accommodation and aid in food to refugees referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be provided by the Office of the Commissioner directly or in cooperation with the Organization of the Red Cross, further humanitarian or other organizations. Article 9 Resources for providing care to refugees shall be ensured out of the:

1) budget of the Republic of Serbia; 2) contributions, donations and other forms of voluntary assistance; 3) other funds as defined by the law. For the purpose of raising funds for voluntary assistance earmarked for providing care to refugees and creating conditions for their return, i.e. for finding another durable solution, the Office of the Commissioner shall open separate gyro and foreign exchange accounts. The Office of the Commissioner shall keep records concerning the raising of financial resources referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, their use in conformity with the defined purposes, and their beneficiaries. Article 10 The Office of the Commissioner shall be obliged to submit a report, at the request of the Government and at least semi-annually, to the Government on the spending of resources allocated for the provision of care to refugees. Article 11 Data related to the identification of a refugee, his/her family members, property and its condition in his/her place of residence, as well as other data of relevance to the exercise of statutory rights, shall be recorded in keeping with the provisions of this Law. A form in which the data are to be recorded, as well as a form of the records, shall be prescribed by the Office of the Commissioner, the Ministry of the Interior and the Republic of Serbias Bureau of Statistics, in mutual agreement. The procedure for the recognition of refugee status and the issuance of documents as laid down by this Law shall be considered initiated once the form referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article has been filled.

Article 12 The manner and scope of the provision of assistance within the framework of care for refugees, in accordance with the stipulations of this Law, shall be noted down in the refugee card. A form of the refugee card shall be prescribed by the Office of the Commissioner.

Article 13 The Office of the Commissioner shall decide on the recognition and termination of refugee status, by virtue of an individual or a collective decision. An appeal may be lodged against the decision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article within fifteen days from the day of the receipt of the decision. The appeal against the decision referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be decided upon by the Minister for relations with Serbs outside Serbia, within fifteen days from the day of the filing of the appeal. Article 14 On the basis of the decision on the recognition of refugee status the Ministry of the Interior shall issue a refugee identity card, after it has first checked whether the person concerned has already been registered in another municipality. The refugee identity card shall contain the information prescribed by the regulations on the identity card, as well as other information as defined by a separate regulation. The refugee identity card shall constitute a public document proving the identity of its holder, on the basis of which a refugee shall exercise the rights pertaining to him/her under the law and prove other facts contained in it. The regulations governing the identity card shall be mutatis mutandis applied to the issuance, safekeeping and replacement of the refugee identity card. Article 15 The form of the refugee identity card and the manner of keeping records shall be prescribed by the Ministry of the Interior, after obtaining an opinion of the Office of the Commissioner. The Ministry of the Interior shall keep records of issued refugee identity cards and changes of a refugees habitual residence. At the request of the Office of the Commissioner, the Ministry of the Interior shall withdraw the refugee identity card of a person whose refugee status has ceased in the manner set out in this Law. Obligations of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia under the law governing the permanent and habitual residence of citizens, with respect to registering and canceling registration of permanent residence, shall pertain also to refugees with respect to registering and canceling registration of their habitual residence.

Article 16 Material or other assistance as part of care for refugees, provided by the Office of the Commissioner to a refugee, may be reduced or terminated when: 1) temporary employment has been secured to a refugee until the expiry of the period of his/her employment, i.e. until the expiry of the period during which employment was secured to him/her; 2) assistance as part of the provision of care through a humanitarian or another organization has been afforded to a refugee; 3) conditions have been created for him/her to generate income from movable or immovable properties or other sources. Criteria for the reduction, i.e. termination of material and other assistance as part of the provision of care to a refugee shall be established by the Government. Article 17 The right to the provision of care shall cease for a refugee if he/she: 1) has returned to the place of origin or if permanent accommodation has been secured to him/her in another specified place; 2) has found a full-time job; 3) has been provided for through acquisition of ownership of real estate which can secure durable accommodation to him/her; 4) has been provided for in that he/she, or his/her nuclear family member, has established an enterprise or a shop, thus ensuring durable social security.

Article 18 A refugee shall lose the rights stipulated in this Law if he/she: 1) has supplied incorrect information when applying for refugee status recognition or when exercising particular refugee rights; 2) has failed to report changes in his/her refugee status, which are of relevance to the exercise of refugee rights, or failed to report a change in his/her habitual residence;

3) has refused to do his/her military service, , fulfill his/her labor obligation or another prescribed obligation, on the terms laid down for the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. has failed to register with the competent military authority; 4) has refused to return to the place of his/her permanent residence once objective conditions to do so have been created; 2 5) has declined offered accommodation, i.e. placement, or declined to permanently or temporarily settle in a place where living conditions have been secured to him/her.

Article 19 To refugees who are permanently prevented from returning to their places of origin, assistance shall be provided, in order for them to settle or find employment in a particular place.

Article 20 Persons who took refuge in the territory of the Republic of Serbia on the terms and in the manner defined in Article 1 of this Law before the entry into force of this Law shall supply the information referred to in Article 11 of this Law, for the purposes of their registration, recognition of refugee status and issuance of refugee identity cards, within 30 days from the effective date of this Law. Until the expiry of the time limit referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, refugees shall continue to exercise their rights in the manner and scope in which they exercised them before the effective date of this Law. Article 21 This Law shall enter into force on the following day after the day of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.

By the Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia IU No. 18/94 ("Official Gazzette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 45/2002 and "Official Journal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", No. 42/2002), it was established that the provision of the Article 18 Para 1 Item 3, the parts military service and i.e. has failed to register with the competent military authority, as well as the provision of the Article 18, Para 1, Item 4 are not in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and with the Convention on the Statuse of Refugees ("Official Journal of the Federal Pepoples Republic of Yugoslavia", No. 7/60)