Petitions for opening of exhibitions, petitions for setting up historical monuments, petitions against the killing of animals or petitions against plastic bags are just some of the numerous examples of initiatives we frequently find covered in the newspapers. “Petition” is a very common word in our language and it means what it in fact stands for in political life – a political human right and freedom (as it is referred to in the Serbian Constitution in Article 56).

The right to petition is a very old democratic tradition – from The United States, across France and Germany, all the way to Articles 21 and 194 of the Maastricht Treaty – and it is considered a fundamental human right. Thanks to global communication the Internet is abuzz with various petitions and recommendations.
However, what is of the right to petition in Serbia? Who is in responsible for them? Are there any petitions handed over? To whom are they handed over and how? What happens to them afterwards?

All participants of this workshop will be important factors on the road to bettering this extremely valuable democratic procedure in Serbia, and will in this way participate in democratic reforms.

We invite you to take part in the workshop: Inclusion of Citizens in Social and Political Life through Advocating the Right to Petition and Submit Recommendations. The organizers are YUCOM – The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights and The Heinrich Böll Foundation. The workshop will be held in the Center for Cultural Decontamination (Centar za kulturnu dekontaminaciju – CZKD) in Bircaninova 21, on Thursday the 18th of February, starting at 10:30 am. 

Program:

10.30 - 10.45                     Arrival of participants
10.45 - 11.30                     Introduction to the project, questionnaires to be filled out and                                                                                                                                                                     
                                          analyzed YUCOM                                                           
11.30 - 12.15                     Coffee break
12.15- 13.00                       Lecture: Petitions and Recommendations in Serbia’s legal system
                                           Dr Dejan Milenković, YUCOM

13.00 – 13.15                     Coffee break
13.15– 14.00                      Workshop: Petitions and recommendations and how to proceed
                                           Dr. Dejan Milenković, YUCOM
                                           Facilitators: Katarina Jozić i Novak Vučo, YUCOM
14.00                                   Lunch