The Local Self-government Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia held its first session on 23 November 2005. Pursuant to Article 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, the session had been convened by the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic.
The National Assembly had adopted the Decision Establishing the Local Self-government Committee at the Fourth Session of the Second Regular Sitting of the National Assembly in 2005.
Opening the new Committee’s constituting session, Mr Markovic expressed his pleasure at the unanimous support given by the Assembly to the creation of the Local Self-government Committee. He thanked the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities for their initiative to form the Committee, and added that, since no law regulated the area, such a body was necessary – both to take part in drafting legislation and to solve pressing issues faced by local authorities.
As stipulated by Article 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, the session was chaired by the Committee’s oldest member, Milomir Dunjic, until the election of the Committee’s chairman. Committee members elected Sava Urosevic, of the G17 Plus Deputies’ Group, chairman; Goran Rakovac, of the Democratic Party of Serbia Deputies’ Group, was elected vice-chairman.

The Committee agreed to hold the next session by the end of the week, and use it to present the draft Local Self-government Property Bill. The Bill was initiated by the Presidency of the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities, and given support by deputies to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.