Constitution ofRepublicaSrpska

Adopted XXXX

(Excerpts)

Article 5

The constitutional arrangement of the Republic shall be based upon the following:

guaranteeand protection of human freedoms and rights in accordance with international standards;

II. HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 10

Citizens of the Republic shall be equal in their freedoms, rights and duties; they shall be equal before the law and they shall enjoy equal legal protection irrespective of their race, sex, language, national origin, religion, social origin, birth, education, property status, political and other beliefs, social status and other personal attributes.

Article 11

Human life shall be inviolable.

Death penalty may be pronounced exclusively for capital crimes.

Article 12

Freedom and personal safety of man are inviolable.

No one may be deprived of his liberty or restricted in it, save for the case and according to the procedure as specified by law.

Article 13

Human dignity, physical and spiritual integrity, personal privacy, personal and family life shall be inviolable.

Article 14

No one may be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Any extortion of confession or statement shall be forbidden and punishable.

It shall be forbidden to conduct medical and other scientific experiments upon any person without his or her consent.

Article 15

Unlawful deprivation of liberty shall be punishable.

Deprivation of liberty may only last as long as there are legal conditions for it.

A person reasonably suspected of having committed an offence may be arrested and detained only when it is necessary for the purpose of the conduct of criminal proceedings or for reasons of the safety of people.

Detention shall be determined by a decision of the Court, and only as an exception, under the conditions stipulated by law, by a decision of another organauthorisedby law and not later than up to three days.

The person detained has to be presented the decision explained in writing at the moment of detention. The person detained has the right to appeal against the decision.

Article 16

Everyone shall be entitled to the equal protection of his rights in the proceedings before the court and other State bodies andorganisation.

Everyone shall be guaranteed the right to appeal or other legal remedy against the decision concerning his right or interest determined by law.

Article 17

Everyone shall be entitled to a compensation for the damage inflicted on him by unlawful or irregular work of an official or a State agency or a body vested with public powers.

A person convicted unjustifiably or deprived of his liberty unlawfully or with no grounds shall have the right to rehabilitation, compensation for damage, a public apology and other rights determined by law.

Article 22

In Article 22 the words: “and ofYugoslavia” (Item 4 of Amendment LVII) have been deleted:

Freedom and secrecy of correspondence and other forms of communication shall be inviolable.

Exception from the principle of inviolability of freedom and secrecy of correspondence and other forms of communication may only be prescribed by law, subject to a court decision, if it is indispensable for the purpose of the conduct of criminal proceedings or for reasons of the safety of the Republic.

Article 25

Freedom of thought and orientation, conscience and conviction, as well as of public expression of opinion shall be guaranteed.

Article 28

Freedom of religion shall be guaranteed.

Religious communities shall be equal before the law and shall be free to perform religious affairs and services. They may open religious schools and perform religious education in all schools at all levels of education; they may engage in economic and other activities, receive gifts, establish legacies and manage them, in conformity with law.

The Serbian Orthodox Church shall be the church of the Serb people and other people of Orthodox religion.

The State shall materially support the Orthodoxchurchand it shall co-operate with it in all fields and, in particular, in preserving, cherishing and developing cultural, traditional and other spiritual values.

Article 32

Citizens shall have the right to publicly express their opinion on the work of State agencies and other bodies, to submit petitions, complaints and proposals to them and to receive answers thereto.

No one may be held responsible or suffer other adverse consequences because of the public expression of his opinion on the work of State agencies or his statements publicly presented in a complaint, petition and proposal, unless thus committing a criminal offence.

Article 36

The family, mother and child shall enjoy special protection.

Article 37

Everyone shall be entitled to health care.

The right to health care shall be guaranteed in conformity with law.

Children, pregnant women and elderly persons shall be entitled to health care financed out of the public funds, while other persons shall enjoy such a care under the conditions spelled out in a law.

Article 38

Everyone shall be entitled to education under equal conditions.

Primary schooling shall be compulsory and free.

Everyone shall have access, under the same conditions, to secondary and higher education.

Article 39

Everyone shall have the right to work and to freedom of work.

Forcedlabourshall be prohibited.

Every employed person shall have the right to remuneration in accordance with law and collective agreements.

Article 40

Employed persons shall be entitled to limited working hours, daily and weekly rest and annual holiday and leave with pay, in accordance with law and collective agreements.

Employed persons shall have the right to safety at work, in accordance with law.

Young people, mothers and disabled persons shall be entitled to special protection at work.

Article 48

The rights and freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution may not be denied or restricted.

Paragraph 2 of Article 48 has been deleted on the basis of Item 8 of Amendment LVII.

The court protection of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution shall be ensured.

Everyone violating the human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution shall be held personally responsible for it and may not be justified by having obeyed somebody’s order to that effect

Article 49

The provisions of Articles 10, 21, 30, 32, 33, 34, 38 and 43 of the Constitution on rights and freedoms of citizens shall be considered the provisions on human rights and fundamental freedoms and shall apply to all, not only to citizens.

The provisions of Articles 13, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 and 30 of the Constitution on rights and freedoms shall be exercised in conformity with related provisions of Articles 8 through 11 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

IX. THECONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Article 115

TheConstitutional Courtshall decide on:

1.conformityof laws, other regulations and general enactments with the Constitution;

2.conformityof regulations and general enactments with the law;

Article 115 has been supplemented with Items 1 and 2 of Amendment XLII, reading as follows:

“The Constitutional Court shall monitor events of interest for the achievement of constitutionality and legality, and inform the highest constitutional bodies of the Republic on the status and problems in that area, offering them opinions and proposals for adopting laws and undertaking other measures for the purpose of ensuring constitutionality and legality, as well as the protection of freedoms and rights of citizens,organisationsand communities.

The Constitutional Court may assess the constitutionality of laws and both the constitutionality and legality of regulations and general enactments which have ceased to be effective, provided that not more than one year has elapsed from the date of the cessation of validity to the date of initiating the proceedings.