The First International Conference of Legislative Committees i.e. Committees on Legal Affairs, organised by the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, German Bundestag’s Committee on Legal Affairs and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, was held at the National Assembly House on 17 and 18 February.

The main topic of the two-day conference was the Role of the parliamentary legislative committees (committees on legal affairs) in the overall constitutional and legal order (system). Prof. Dr Felix Uhlmann of the Zurich Faculty of Law gave the opening lecture on the topic.

The competences and work of the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the German Bundestag’s Committee on Legal Affairs were presented as part of the topic.

The participants debated the role of the legislative committee (committee on legal affairs) in the legislative procedure, legislative hierarchy, relation between parliamentary committees and the Constitutional Court and the use of legal expertise in the legislative committee’s work.

The conclusions adopted at the end of the debate stressed that the establishment of a comprehensive legal order is one of the national parliaments’ most important obligations, so the competences and role of the legislative committees i.e. committees on legal affairs should be strengthened to this end.

The participants of the Conference stated that meetings between parliamentary legislative committees i.e. committees on legal affairs provide an excellent opportunity to share experiences and opinions in view of the differences in the legislative procedures of the participating countries, adding that this practice should be continued.

The Conference was opened by National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic who stressed that the parliaments’ key role is to develop and improve the constitutional and legal order. She informed the parliamentarians and other guests that in the period between May 2008 and the end of 2010, the current convocation of the National Assembly passed 575 laws and 150 other legal acts. Such efficiency is illustrative of the National Assembly’s commitment to back the legislative reform aimed at reaching the legislative standards of the European Union.

The National Assembly Speaker declared it very useful that the international conference managed to gather the representatives of the parliamentary committees of European Union member states, as well as states striving to join the EU and the Committee on Judicial and Legal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The participants were also addressed by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Dimitrios Kypreos who emphasised the significance of regional cooperation, international exchange of opinions and strengthening of partnerships aimed at improving the expertise and work of the bearers of legislative office.

The Chairman of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Legal Affairs Siegfried Kauder said that the parliament’s efforts to establish a legal state should be a daily struggle.

Addressing the participants, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Vlatko Ratkovic stated that the Conference aims to improve the legislative framework in each of the participant countries, stressing that the speed of their approach to the European Union depends on the their ability to implement their legal acts.

The Conference gathered parliamentary delegations from Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.