Gov’t Adopts Bill on Declaring Kosovo Area of Special Social Protection

Serbian Government building (BETAPHOTO/ANA SLOVIC)

At an Oct. 28 session, the Serbian government adopted a bill declaring the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija an area of special social protection, regulating rights to special social protection and the conditions, jurisdiction and procedure for obtaining it.

The government's press release noted that eligibility for special social protection is determined in order to prevent social exclusion in the area and eliminate its consequences.

Declaring Kosovo and Metohija an area of special social protection, the government said in its press release, will mean financial support for the legally defined population categories, with the goal of their survival in the area and will encourage the preservation of cultural and historical heritage, with an emphasis on demographic, economic and cultural development.

Cabinet members also passed a bill on the organization and jurisdiction of judicial bodies in processing crimes committed on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

"According to the new legislation, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office and the Higher Court in Belgrade have first-instance jurisdiction over crime cases, while the Appellate Public Prosecutor's Office and the Appellate Court in Belgrade have second-instance jurisdiction. Also, the legislation envisages a special department for the prosecution of crimes committed on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija to be formed by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade," the statement added.