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| Pursuant to Article 3 of the
of the Decision amending and modifying the Rules of Procedure of the Republic
Electoral Commission ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia",
Number 27/08),
The Administrative Service of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia has determined the redacted text of the Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission. The redacted text of the Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission shall include: 1. The Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", Number 27/04). Parts of this text, namely, Article 30 stipulating that the previous Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission are repealed, and Article 31 stipulating when the Rules of Procedure shall come into force, are not included in the redacted text of the Rules of Procedure. 2. Decision amending and modifying the Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", Number 27/08), whereas, Article 3 obliging the Administrative Service of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia to compose the redacted text of the Rules of Procedure, and Article 4 stipulating when the Decision shall come into force. 02 Number: 02-1124/08 ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARY
I INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS Article 1 The present Rules of Procedure shall order issues of organisation, mode of work and decision-making of the Republic Electoral Commission (hereinafter: the Commission), as well as other issues of relevance to the Commission's work. Article 2 The seat of the Commission shall be in Belgrade, in the building of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, at 14 Kralja Milana Street. Article 3 The Commission shall use four seals (two large and two small ones) and two stamps in its work. Two seals shall be 32 millimetres in diameter (zero seal and seal marked "I"), and two seals shall be 20 millimetres in diameter (zero seal and seal marked "I"). The seals shall be circular, and shall have the coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia in the centre. Along the edge shall be inscribed the words: "Republic of Serbia". The words: "Republic Electoral Commission" shall be inscribed in a smaller concentric circle. At the bottom of the seal shall be inscribed the word: "Belgrade". The stamps shall be rectangular and shall contain the following words: first line: "Republic of Serbia", second line: "Republic Electoral Commission", in the third line space for item number, in the fourth line space for date and time, and in the fifth line: "Belgrade". Words on both the seals and the stamps shall be inscribed in the Cyrillic script. A set of large and small seals of the Commission (marked zero) shall be kept at the Writing Office and Mail Department of the National Assembly, and the head of the Department shall be in charge of its use and keeping. A large seal of the Commission (marked "I") shall be kept at the Session Preparation and Processing Sector of the National Assembly, and the administrative officer tasked with preparing and processing sessions shall be in charge of its use and keeping. A small seal (marked "I") shall be kept at the Material and Financial Affairs Section of the National Assembly, and the head of the Section shall be in charge of its use and keeping. II COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION Article 4 The Commission is made up of members of its permanent and expanded compositions. Article 5 The Commission, in its permanent composition, shall be comprised of the chairperson and sixteen members nominated by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and in its expanded composition of an additional representative of the submitter of each electoral list, or the submitter of a candidate for the office of President of the Republic. Article 6 The Commission shall have a secretary nominated by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia from the ranks of its professional administrative personnel, who shall take part in the work of the Commission without the right to vote. Article 7 The chairperson and members of the Committee and its secretary shall have deputies. The chairperson, members of the Commission, its secretary and their deputies must be graduate jurists. The aforementioned deputies shall have the same rights and responsibilities as the members they stand in for. Article 8 A representative of the republic organisation charged with statistical affairs shall also be member of the Commission, and shall take part in the Commission's work without having the right to vote. Article 9 The Commission shall issue an official document confirming that a submitter of an electoral list, or candidate, meets the conditions for the inclusion of their representative in the expanded composition of the present Body, within 48 hours from the proclamation of an electoral list, or candidate. The official document on the meeting of conditions, or lack thereof, for the inclusion of the representative of the submitter of an electoral list, or candidate, shall be forwarded by the Commission to the submitter of an electoral list, or candidate, to the address indicated in the electoral list, or document proposing a candidate, within 24 hours from the adoption of the official document. The representative of the submitter of an electoral list, or candidate, shall become a member of the expanded composition of the Commission at the latest 24 hours from the adoption of the official document. Article 10 The composition of the Commission shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. III COMPETENCIES OF THE COMMISSION Article 11 The Commission shall, under the Act on the Election of Deputies, the Act on the Election of the President of the Republic, the Act on the Election of Deputies to the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro and the Act on the Financing of Political Parties, have the following competencies: 1) ensuring the lawful conduct of elections; 2) organising technical preparations for elections; 3) monitoring the application of, and providing clarification on, the application of legislation; 4) setting common standards for electoral materials; 5) prescribing forms and rules and setting deadlines for the performance of electoral activities set forth in the aforementioned Acts; 6) prescribing the type of spray used in voter identification; 7) determining and publishing the number and address of polling stations; 8) forming polling boards and nominating chairpersons and members of polling boards and their deputies; 9) determining the number of ballot papers for polling stations, officially stamping them and forwarding them, together with an officially stamped extract from the electoral roll, to polling boards, and entering this action in the minutes; 10) dealing with election-related documents forwarded to it; 11) determining whether an electoral list, or proposal of a candidate, have been composed and submitted in accordance with legislation, and proclaiming electoral lists and candidates, or denying proclamation to an electoral list or candidate by issuing an official document; 12) determining whether the submitter of an electoral list should have the status of a political party of a national minority, in accordance with legislation; 13) issuing an official document proclaiming the final electoral list, or a document setting out the list of candidates; 14) setting the manner of keeping and handling electoral material; 15) determining and publishing results of elections; 16) determining the number of mandates apportioned to electoral lists; 17) issuing the certificate of the election of the President of the Republic of Serbia; 18) submitting a report to the National Assembly on the conduct of elections and the election of deputies in order for vacant seats in the National Assembly to be filled; 19) forwarding information to bodies charged with gathering and processing statistical data; 20) deciding on complaints filed with it; 21) issuing, upon request, of interpretations and information relating to the application of Acts and other legislation dealing with the election of deputies or President of the Republic; 22) inspection of data set out in the report of the submitter of a proclaimed electoral list, or submitter of a candidate, on the origin, amount and structure of assets collected and expended in the course of an election campaign; 23) compiling reports, on the basis of the inspection of data described in Subsection 22) of the present Paragraph, and forwarding them to the relevant authorities in order for criminal or misdemeanour charges to be brought, if it should be determined that assets had been collected or expended in violation of provisions set forth by legislation; 24) performing other affairs set forth by legislation. IV MANNER OF WORK Article 12 The Commission shall sit in its permanent and expanded compositions. The Commission shall sit in its expanded commission from the day that this composition is convened until the conclusion of the elections. Article 13 The Commission shall be independent and shall perform its activities on the basis of legislation and regulations based on legislation. The activities of the Commission shall be public. Article 14 The Commission shall perform its activities in sessions. A session of the Commission shall be convened by the chairperson of the Commission, at their suggestion, or, within the time prescribed when at least one third of the Commission's members should request it. The chairperson, members and secretary of the Commission, as well as their deputies, shall take part in the work of the Commission. Article 15 As a rule, the invitation to a session of the Commission, together with the proposed agenda shall be sent to members of the Commission and their deputies in written form, at the latest two days before the date set for the holding of the session. If required, sessions may be convened by telephone or by any other adequate means. Exceptionally, the invitation to a session of the Commission, together with the proposed agenda, may be sent at shorter notice; the chairperson of the Commission shall then be obliged to explain this action at the beginning of the session. Article 16 The Commission may work and reach legitimate decisions if its session is attended by a majority of its members or their deputies. The Commission shall reach decisions by a majority of votes of members of its permanent or expanded composition. If a proposal to reach a decision by which the existing legal situation relating to the work of the Republic Electoral Commission or the procedure for the implementation of elections does not receive a majority of votes, the proposal shall be considered rejected. Article 17 In order to examine certain issues relating to its field of activity, draft official acts, reports and other documents, as well as perform certain electoral activities, the Commission may form working groups from the ranks of its members; the working group may be assisted by external professionals. The Commission may, as required, charge some of its members with examining questions arising from the conduct of elections, through direct co-operation with officials from other electoral bodies and other participants in the elections, as well as through inspection of relevant documents, in order to inform the Commission of the circumstances met with and propose adequate solutions. Article 18 The Committee ensures the openness of its work through the presence of accredited representatives of the media, as well as by issuing public statements and holding press conferences. Public statements shall be issued by the Information Department of the Administrative Service of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, upon being approved by the Commission. Press conferences may be held by the chairperson or members of the Commission, upon being approved by the Commission. Article 19 In performing its tasks, the Commission shall, in compliance with legislation, co-operate with national and international bodies and organisations. V DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS Article 20 The Chairperson shall always put the proposal to endorse a complaint to a vote. If the proposal to endorse a complaint does not receive a majority of votes, the proposal shall be considered rejected. The decision on a complaint shall be adopted by the Commission within 48 hours from the time of the complaint being filed, and shall be forwarded to the submitter of the complaint and all submitters of electoral lists, or proposals of candidates, at addresses indicated in the electoral list, or proposal of candidate. Article 21 If an appeal should be lodged against the Commission's decision, the Commission shall forward the appeal, together with the decision being contested, and all other necessary documents, to the Supreme Court of Serbia, within 24 hours from the appeal being lodged. Article 22 In dealing with complaints relating to questions not explicitly regulated by the Act on the Election of Deputies, the Act on the Election of the President of the Republic, the Act on the Election of Deputies to the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro and the Act on the Financing of Political Parties, the Commission shall apply the provisions of the Act on General Administrative Proceedings. VI ENSURING CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION Article 23 The assets for the work of the bodies charged with the conduct of the elections, those for electoral material, as well as those for other expenses, shall be provided from the budget of the Republic. Article 24 Members of the Commission and their deputies shall be entitled to remuneration for their work on the Commission. The amount of remuneration for work on the Republic Electoral Commission shall be set by a special decision of the Commission. The chairperson and secretary of the Commission shall be entitled to draw the assets described in Article 23 and Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 24. Article 25 The Administrative Service of the National Assembly shall provide necessary professional and technical assistance in the performance of the Commission's activities, in accordance with legislation and the Decision on the Activities and Organisation of the Service. VII DOCUMENTATION ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION Article 26 Shorthand notes and minutes of the activities of the Commission shall be kept at sessions of the Commission. The minutes shall contain the principal data on activities at the session, especially proposals under discussion, together with the names of the participants in the discussion, decisions, conclusions and other acts adopted at the session, as well as on the results of voting on individual issues. The secretary of the Commission shall be charged with keeping and storing the minutes. The minutes shall be stored permanently. The minutes shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the Commission. Before being officially adopted, the minutes may be used only subject to approval by the chairperson of the Commission. Article 27 The Commission shall ensure the storing of electoral acts and reports on the results of elections and electoral materials, as well as the use of such materials, in accordance with legislation. Article 28 A register of acts shall be kept by the Commission, and documentation (archival material of the Commission) shall be processed and stored in accordance with regulations. VIII FINAL PROVISIONS Article 29 Issues relating to the work of the Commission that have not been ordered
by the present Rules of Procedure may be ordered by a Decision or Resolution
of the Commission, in accordance with the provisions of the present Rules
of Procedure.
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