At the sitting held on 15 July, under the chairmanship of Jovan Nesovic, Committee Chairman, the Committee on Urban Planning and Construction discussed in principle the Bills on Zoning and Construction and on State Survey and Land Registry, submitted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The sitting was attended by the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Oliver Dulic, and associates, who presented the Bills to the Committee members.

The Bill on Zoning and Construction is a systemic law reforming all four pillars of the field: planning, issuance of permits, property and lease rights and legalisation. It introduces obligatory spatial plans which the towns and municipalities must adopt within two years. The Bill shortens the time and procedure necessary for the issuance of construction permits, it introduces the division of buildings by category, and it also increases the number of buildings which do not necessitate a permit. The property rights are based on the premise that the owner of the building is also the owner of the land it is constructed on. The procedure for the legalisation process is simplified, deadlines are shortened, necessary documentation reduced and according to estimates, the legalisation process shall be completed within two years.

The Bill on State Survey and Land Registry implements European Union directives into Serbian legislation and improves the operation of the Republic Geodetic Institute. The institute has so far covered 83% of Serbia by land registry data which it shall use, according to this Bill, to form databases available to everyone.

Following the discussion, the members of the Committee on Urban Planning and Construction accepted both Bills in principle by a majority of votes, while deputy Bojan Mladenovic reserved his opinion to the Bill on Zoning and Construction.