Maja Gojkovic
Serbian Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic said on March 23 that, if the parliament is unable to meet, the Constitution allows for the cabinet to introduce measures reducing human and minority rights by issuing a decree and with a sign-off from the president.
In response to a motion by eight MPs to hold a parliamentary session to debate what they termed an unconstitutionally introduced state of emergency, the speaker said the state of emergency had been declared because the spread of Covid-19 on Serbian territory was "a public hazard threatening the survival of the state and its citizens."
"Considering the current epidemiological situation and the recommendation not to call or hold assemblies of over 50 people, I proposed that, in line with Article 200, paragraph 5 of the Serbian Constitution, the decision on the state of emergency be made by the president of the Republic, the speaker of the National Assembly and the prime minister," Gojkovic's cabinet quoted her as saying.
A group of eight MPs on March 23 filed a motion to hold a session of the parliament to consider what they described as the unconstitutionally introduced state of emergency.
The motion's supporters include Enough Is Enough leader Sasa Radulovic and MPs Srdjan Nogo and Djordje Vukadinovic.
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