EXCEPTION FROM THE SUBSIDIARITY OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMPLAINT IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Subsidiarity is one of the essential features of the constitutional complaint as an extraordinary legal remedy for the protection of human rights. The subject matter of this paper is the exception from the subsidiarity of the constitutional complaint in the Republic of Serbia. According to the hitherto constitutional practice, this exception has been established twice, both times by a piece of ordinary legislation. In 2007, it was set in favor of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, in general terms. In 2023, it was established in favor of the same right but in narrower terms. Although such legislative action may be justified from the perspective of constant adjustment of the national human rights’ protection system to the international one, it is not acceptable from the constitutional point of view. In other words, the current constitutional framework is not flexible enough to justify the exception from the subsidiarity of the constitutional complaint by a piece of ordinary legislation, regardless of how appropriate the establishment of this exception may be as a systemic measure in the context of implementation of the ECtHR judgments.