Constitution of the Republic Serbia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 98/2006) 

Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination 

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Law  on the Amendments to the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination 

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Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination in the Republic of Serbia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 22/2009) 

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Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment Of Persons With Disabilities (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 36/2009)

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Law on Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities (“Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia“, No. 11/2002, “Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro“, No. 1/2003 – Constitutional Charter and “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, No. 72/2009 – second law, 97/13-Constitutional Court and 47/2018)

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Law on Youth (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 50/2011)

Article 5
The Principle of Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination

All young people shall be equal.

It shall be prohibited to differentiate or unequally treat young people, whether directly or indirectly, on the grounds of race, gender, nationality, religion, language, social origin, property, membership in political parties and other organizations, mental or physical disability, health status, physical appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity and other real or assumed personal characteristic.

Article 6
The Principle of Equal Opportunity

Young people shall have the right on equal opportunities and participation in all spheres of social life in line with their own choices and capacities.

 

Law on Preschool Education (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, No. 18/2010, 101/2017, 113/2017 – second law, 10/2019)

Article 3 paragraph 4

In discharging the activity of preschool education and other activities in preschool institution, all forms of violence, abuse and neglect shall be forbidden, as well as all other activities that may jeopardize, discriminate against of single out a child or a group of children on any grounds, in line with the Law.

 

Law on Fundamentals of Education System (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, No. 88/17, 27/2018 – second law, 10/2019, 6/2020)

Article 3 paragraph 1items (1) and (5)

The education and pedagogy system must provide all children, students and adults with:
1) Equality and accessibility of education and pedagogy without discrimination and segregation based on gender, social, cultural, ethnic, religious or other background, place of residence or domicile, financial or health status, developmental difficulties and impairments and disabilities, as well as other grounds;
5) Equal opportunities for education and pedagogy at all levels and types of education, in keeping with the needs and interests of children, students and adults, without any obstacles to change, continuation and completion of education and lifelong education;

Article 6

Every person shall have the right to education.

The citizens of the Republic of Serbia shall be equal in exercising their right to education and pedagogy, regardless of their gender, race, national, religious and language background, social and cultural background, financial status, age, physical and psychological constitution, developmental impairments or disabilities, political opinion or another personal trait.
Persons with developmental impairments and disabilities shall be entitled to education and pedagogy which takes into consideration their educational needs within the regular education and pedagogy system, within the regular system with individual or group additional assistance or in a special preschool group or school, in accordance with this and the pertaining law.
Persons with exceptional abilities shall be entitled to education which takes into consideration their special educational needs, within the regular system, within special classes or within a special school, in accordance with this and the pertaining law.
Foreign citizens and persons without citizenship shall be entitled to education under same conditions and in the same manner as envisaged for the citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

Article 44
Prohibition of Discrimination

Activities aimed at threatening, belittling, discriminating or singling out groups or individuals on the basis of their racial, national, ethnic, linguistic, religious background or gender, physical and psychological characteristics, developmental impairments and disabilities, health condition, age, social and cultural origin, financial status or political views as well as encouraging or not preventing such activities, and other types of activities stipulated by the law prescribing the prohibition of discrimination, shall be prohibited in an institution.
Discrimination of a group or an individual shall imply each and every direct or indirect, covert or overt exclusion or limitation of rights and freedoms, unequal treatment or failure to act or unjustified differentiation through lax discipline or giving precedence.
Special measures introduced for the purpose of achieving full equality, protection and progress of disadvantaged persons or groups shall not be considered as discrimination.
More detailed criteria enabling an employee, student or another person in an institution to detect different forms of discrimination shall jointly be prescribed by the minister and the minister in charge of human rights.

Article 45
Prohibition of Violence, Abuse and Neglect

Physical, psychological and social violence, abuse and neglect of children and students, corporal punishment and insults, sexual abuse of children, students and employees shall be prohibited in an institution.
Violence and abuse shall imply all forms of once or repeatedly inflicted verbal or nonverbal conduct which results in real or potential hazard to health, development and dignity of a child, student or an employee.
Neglect or careless treatment shall imply the omission on behalf of the institution or an employee to provide conditions for a child’s or student’s proper development.
The institution shall be obliged to immediately file a complaint with a competent authority if signs of violence, abuse or neglect are perceived.
The physical violence for the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article shall imply: corporal punishment of children and students by employees and other adults, conduct which can lead to real or potential bodily harm being inflicted on a child, student or an employee, violent behavior of an employee towards children, students or other employees as well as violent behavior of a student towards other students or employees.
The psychological violence, for the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, shall imply conduct resulting in temporary or permanent impairment of psychological and emotional health and dignity of a child, student or employee.
The social violence, for the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, shall imply the exclusion of a child or student from a peer group and different forms of social activities in the institution.
Each and every form of violence and abuse, as stated in paragraph 2 of this Article, on behalf of a student or parent or guardian or an adult against a teacher, preschool teacher, psychologist/pedagogue and other employee shall be prohibited in an institution.
Criminal procedure shall be launched against a parent or child’s guardian or a student for the violation of the prohibition as stated in paragraph 8 of this Article.
The minister shall prescribe the violence and abuse response protocol, content and manner of implementation of preemptive and intervention activities, the conditions, manner and mode of risk analysis, protection against violence, abuse and neglect.
More detailed criteria enabling the detection of non-verbal forms of child and student abuse by an employee during caretaking activities, recess and recreation and other forms of educational and pedagogical work and activities shall be prescribed by the minister.

Article 110

The institution prohibits discrimination and discriminatory treatment, which in a direct or indirect, open or covert manner, unjustifiably makes a difference or acts unequally, or omits (exclusion, restriction or giving priority), in relation to a person or groups of persons, as well to members of their families or persons close to them in an open or covert manner, based on race, color, ancestry, citizenship, migrant or displaced person status, nationality or ethnic origin, language, religious or political beliefs, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, financial condition, social and cultural background, birth, genetic characteristics, health condition, developmental challenges and disability, marital and family status, conviction record, age, appearance, membership in political, trade union and other organizations and other actual, i.e. presumed personal characteristics, as well as on other grounds determined by the law prescribing prohibition of discrimination.

Special measures introduced to achieve full equality, protection and progress of persons, i.e. group of persons who are in an unequal position, shall not be considered discrimination.

The institution is obliged to take all measures prescribed by this law when discriminatory behavior in the institution is suspected or established.

More detailed criteria for recognizing forms of discrimination by an employee, child, student, adult, parent or other legal representative or a third party in the institution shall be jointly prescribed by the Minister and the Minister responsible for human and minority rights.

Actions of the institution when discriminatory behavior is suspected or determined, metohods of conducting preventive and intervention activities, obligations and responsibilities of the employee, child, student, adult, parent or other legal representative, third party in the institution, bodies of the institution and other issues of importance for protection from discrimination, shall be prescribed by the Minister.

Article 111

The institution prohibits Physical, mental, social, sexual, digital and any other violence, abuse and neglect of an employee, child, student, adult, parent or other legal representative or third party in the institution.

Violations of the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, which an employee commits against another employee in the institution, shall be regulated by law.

Violence and abuse means any form of once committed, i.e. repeated verbal or non-verbal behavior that results in a real or potential threat to the health, development and dignity of the personality of a child, student and adult.

Neglect and negligence is the failure of an institution or employee to provide conditions for the proper development of a child, student and adult.

The institution is obliged to immediately submit a report to the competent authority if a child, student or adult shows signs of violence, abuse or neglect.

For the purposes of this Law, physical violence is considered to be: physical punishment of a child, student or adult by an employee, parent or other legal representative or a third party in the institution; any conduct that may result in actual or potential bodily injury to a child, student, adult or employee; violent behavior of an employee towards a child, student or adult, as well as of a student and of an adult towards another student, adult or employee.

Mental violence, in the sense of this law, is considered to be behavior that leads to immediate or permanent threat to mental and emotional health and dignity.

Social violence, in the sense of this law, is considered to be the exclusion of a child, student and adult from the group of peers and various forms of activities of the institution.

Sexual violence and abuse, in the sense of this law, is considered to be behavior by which a child and a student are sexually harassed, induced or forced to participate in sexual activities that he/she does not want, does not understand or for which he/she is not developmentally mature or when he/she is used for prostitution, pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation.

Digital violence and abuse, in the sense of this law, is considered to be the abuse of information and communication technologies that can result in insulting another person and threat to dignity and is achieved by sending messages by e-mail, SMS, MMS, via a website, chatting, engaging in forums, social networks and other forms of digital communication.

The institution is obliged to report to the competent authority any form of violence, abuse and neglect in the institution committed by a parent, or other legal representative or a third party in the institution.

The Minister shall prescribe the protocol of actions in the institution in response to violence and abuse, the content and methods of conducting preventive and intervention activities, conditions and methods for risk assessment, methods of protection against violence, abuse and neglect.

The Minister shall prescribe more detailed conditions on the ways of recognizing non-verbal forms of abuse of children and students by the employee during care, rest, recreation and other forms of educational work.

Prohibition of conduct that offends reputation, honor or dignity.

Article 112

Any kind of conduct of an employee towards a child, student and adult, or of a child, student and adult towards an employee, or of a parent, i.e. another legal representative or a third party towards an employee, or of an employee towards a parent or other legal representative, or of a child, student and adult towards another child, student or adult, insulting reputation, honor or dignity is prohibited.

The director of the institution is obliged to take appropriate activities and measures within the competence of the institution within three days from the day of finding out about the violation of the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

More detailed conditions on the ways of recognizing behavior that insults the reputation, honor or dignity in the institution are jointly prescribed by the Minister and the Minister in charge of human and minority rights.

The actions of the institution in the case of suspicion or determination of the insult to reputation, honor or dignity, methods of conducting preventive and intervention activities, conditions and methods for risk assessment, methods of protection and other issues of importance for protection shall be prescribed by the Minister.

 

Law on Churches and Religious Communities (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 36/2006)

Article 2
Prohibition of Religious Discrimination

No one shall be subject to coercion which could impair freedom of religion, or be compelled to declare their religious belief and religious conviction or absence thereof.

No one shall be harassed, discriminated or privileged for her religious convictions, belonging or not belonging to a religious community, participating or not participating in religious services and religious ceremonies and exercising or not exercising guaranteed religious freedoms and rights.

There shall be no state religion.

 

Labor Code (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, No. 24/2005, 61/2005, 54/2009, 32/2013, 75/2014, 13/2017- decision of the Constitutional Court, 113/2017 and 95/2018 – authentic interpretation)

Article 18

Both direct and indirect discriminations are prohibited against persons seeking employment and employees in respect to their sex, origin, language, race, color of skin, age, pregnancy, health status or disability, nationality, religion, marital status, familial commitments, sexual orientation, political or other belief, social background, financial status, membership in political organizations, trade unions or any other personal quality.

Article 19

Direct discrimination, pursuant to this law, shall be any action caused by some of the grounds referred to in Article 18 of this law that puts a person seeking employment or employee in a less favorable situation than other persons in the same or similar situation.
Indirect discrimination, pursuant to this law, shall be recognized, in case an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice puts or would put a person seeking employment or employee in a less favorable situation than other persons, due to a certain quality, status, belief or position of such person referred to in Article 18 of this law.

Article 20

Discrimination referred to in Article 18 of this law shall be prohibited in relation to:
1) employment conditions and selection of candidates for a certain job;
2) working conditions and all rights resulting from the labor relationship;
3) education, training and advanced training;
4) promotion at work;
5) termination of the labor contract.
Provisions of the labor contract establishing discrimination pursuant to some of the grounds referred to in Article 18 of this law shall be null and void.

Article 21

Harassment and sexual harassment are prohibited.
Harassment, pursuant to this law, is any unwanted behavior resulting from some of the grounds referred to in Article 18 of this law aimed at or representing violation of dignity of a person seeking employment or employee, causing fear or breeding adverse, humiliating or insulting environment.
Sexual harassment, pursuant to this law, is any verbal, non-verbal or physical behavior aimed at or representing violation of dignity of a person seeking employment or employee in the area of sexual life, causing fear or breeding adverse, humiliating or insulting environment.

Article 22

Differentiation, exclusion or prioritization for a certain job shall not be considered discriminating when the nature of the work is such or the work is done under such circumstances that qualities relating to some of the grounds referred to in Article 18 of this law represent the true and decisive requirement for performance of such job, and that the purpose aimed at is justified.
Provisions of this law, general document and the labor contract relating to special protection and assistance to certain categories of employees, particularly those relating to protection of disabled persons, women on maternity leave and absence from work for childcare, special childcare and provisions relating to special rights of parents, adoptive parents, guardians and foster parents – shall not be interpreted as discrimination.

Article 23

In cases of discrimination pursuant to provisions of Articles 18 – 21 of this law person seeking employment or employee may file for compensation of damages before the competent court, pursuant to the law.

 

Law on Sports (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 24/2011)

Article 10

It is forbidden to directly or indirectly discriminate against athletes in their performance of sports activities, on the grounds of their personal characteristics, gender, status, orientation or belief. This includes discrimination against professional athletes and those who want to become professionals, with regard to employment, wages or conditions of work, except in a situation when the act of differentiating between athletes, i.e. of putting an athlete in a less favorable position in comparison to other athletes in an identical or similar situation, is based on the very nature of a particular sports activity or on real and decisive conditions for performance of such activity, with the aim to achieve justified results.

Provisions of a contract made between an athlete and a sports association that set forth discrimination against the athlete shall be null and void, while the provisions of sports directives and general acts of associations in the sphere of sports that set forth discrimination against athletes shall not be applied.

An athlete who doesn’t have a valid contract signed with one sports association may not be denied the right, by sports rules, to conclude a contract with another sports association or to transfer to another sports association and represent it in sports competitions as an athlete, when the sports association to which the athlete transfers pays the appropriate remuneration to the sports association that the athlete leaves.

In case of a consensual termination of contract between an athlete and a sports association, a dispute that may arise between the sports association to which the athlete transfers and the sports association that the athlete leaves on the subject of amount and manner of payment of the agreed transfer remuneration may not influence the athlete’s sports activities, and his or her right to represent the sports association to which he or she transferred.

An athlete has the right on reparation of damage that he or she may suffer on the account of discrimination acts committed by sports associations from paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article.

Article 26 paragraph 11

The provisions on prohibition of discrimination from Article 10 of this Law shall be accordingly applicable to sports experts and experts in the field of sports as well.

Article 145 paragraph 3

Sports venues must be accessible to persons with special needs (children, elderly, persons with disabilities, etc.).

 

Law on Official Use of Language and Script (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 45/91, 53/93, 67/93, 48/94, 101/2005 – second law, 30/2010, 47/2018 and 48/2018 – correction)

Article 11

In the territory of a local self-government unit where members of national minorities traditionally live, their language and script (alphabet) may be in equal official use.

The local self-government unit shall obligatorily introduce the language and script of the national minority into equal official use by its statute if the percentage of members of that national minority in the total population in its territory reaches 15% according to the results of the last census, no later than 90 days from the day of determining the conditions provided by law.

The official use of the language of national minorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article includes in particular: the use of the language of national minorities in administrative and judicial proceedings and the conduct of administrative proceedings and court proceedings in the language of a national minority; the use of the language of a national minority in the communication of bodies with public authority with citizens; issuing public documents and keeping official records and collections of personal data in the languages ​​of national minorities and accepting those documents in those languages ​​as valid; the use of national minority languages ​​on ballots and voting materials; the use of national minority languages ​​in the work of representative bodies.

In the territories referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the names of bodies exercising public authority, names of local self-government units, settlements, squares and streets and other toponyms shall also be written in the language of the respective national minority, according to its tradition and ortography.

In settlements within the local self-government units, whose territory is determined in accordance with the law governing the territorial organization of the Republic of Serbia, in which the percentage of members of a certain national minority in the total population in the territory of the settlement reaches 15% according to the last census, the names of the bodies exercising public authority, the names of local self-government units, settlements, squares and streets and other toponyms shall also be written in the language of the respective national minority, according to its tradition and ortography, even in the case the language of that national minority is not in official use in the territory of the local self-government unit, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.

The assembly of the local self-government unit shall determine the settlements referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article by its statute, given the traditional presence of members of the national minority and the previously obtained opinion of the national council of the national minority.

The languages of national minorities that are in official use in the work of the bodies of the autonomous province are determined by its statute.

Laws and regulations are also published in the languages of national minorities, in accordance with the law governing the protection of the rights and freedoms of national minorities.

Members of national minorities whose number in the total population of the Republic of Serbia reaches at least 2% according to the last census may address the republic authorities in their own language and have the right to receive an answer in that language.

Members of national minorities whose number in the total population of the Republic of Serbia does not reach 2% according to the last census may address the republican authorities in their own language and have the right to receive an answer in that language through the local self-government unit in which the language of that national minority is in official use, where the local self-government unit provides translation and bears the costs of translating the letter sent to the republic body and the response of that body.

An Assemblyperson belonging to a national minority has the right to speak at a meeting of the National Assembly and to submit written documents while working in the National Assembly, provided for in the Rules of Procedure, in his/her own language.

When an Assemblyperson uses his/her own language in the work of the National Assembly within the meaning of paragraph 11 of this Article, permanently or in a certain case, the Secretary General of the National Assembly is obliged to provide simultaneous translation of his/her oral presentation or submitted document into Serbian.

Article 18а

Members of national minorities have the right to freely choose and use the personal name and the names of their children, as well as to enter these personal names in all public documents, official records and collections of personal data according to the language and spelling of members of the national minority.

The right referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article does not exclude the parallel entry of names in Serbian spelling and script (alphabet).

 

Law on National Councils of National Minoritiy („Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, no. 72/09, 20/14-US, 55/14 and 47/2018)

Article 10

The National Council shall, in accordance with the law and its statute, through its bodies, independently:

1) adopt and amend the statute of the national council;

2) adopt the financial plan, financial report and annual financial statement;

3) command of its own property;

4) decide on the name, symbols and seal of the national council;

5) determine proposals for national symbols, flags and holidays of the national minority;

6) establish institutions, associations, foundations, companies in the fields of culture, education, media and official use of languages and scripts (alphabets);

7) propose the representative of the national minority in the council for interethnic relations in the unit of local self-government;

7a) propose to the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit as the founder of an institution, the establishment of an institution of special importance referred to in Art. 11a and 17 of this Law;

7b) initiate or propose to the Republic, autonomous province or local self-government unit as the founder of an institution, which, in accordance with this Law, has been determined as an institution of special importance for a national minority, the transfer of founding rights;

8) establish and award prizes;

9) initiate the adoption and monitor the implementation of laws and other regulations in the field of culture, education, media and official use of languages ​​and scripts (alphabets);

10) participate in the preparation of laws and other regulations and initiate the adoption or amendments and supplements to laws and other regulations governing the constitutionally guaranteed rights of national minorities in the field of culture, education, media and official use of languages ​​and scripts (alphabets);

11) initiate the adoption, i.e. amendments to special regulations and temporary measures in areas in which the right to self-government is exercised, in order to achieve full equality between members of a national minority and citizens belonging to the majority;

12) submit a complaint to the Protector of Citizens, the provincial and local ombudsperson and other competent body, when it assesses that there has been a violation of the constitutionally and legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of members of national minorities;

13) submit a complaint referred to in item 12) of this Article on behalf of members of a national minority;

14) take views, start initiatives and take measures in relation to all issues directly related to the position, identity and rights of the national minority;

15) decide on other issues entrusted to it by law.