Dejan Milenković

As a consequence of the lack of public policies and legal framework, and then the non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the use of rivers and coasts, the development of floating communities from their creation until today in Belgrade, has flowed predominantly from the bottom up, i.e. from individual and often illegal actions individuals to the gradual and increasingly current determination and then the implementation of public policies and the arrangement of the river area. Comparatively, some European cities on rivers and canals have, in the last few decades, increasingly paid attention to the careful planning of river and canal management and the potential opportunities for the realization of urban green housing projects through the creation of sustainable floating micro-river communities on them. And the city of Belgrade gradually adapts to these needs. In the city of Belgrade, in addition to a large number of examples of bad practice of “floating communities” there are also some good examples of “micro river space” arrangement and good practice of living and living in an ecologically acceptable natural environment on the water. This is the case of the river island of Ada Međica in Belgrade, which can serve as a “good case” for other European cities on rivers. It is a sustainable community characterized by the symbiosis of people and the environment, where the strength of a small river community contributes to the preservation of the environment, the achievement of ecological balance and urban green living in a natural environment.

One of the constitutional and legal responsibilities of the local self-government (LSGs), i.e. municipalities and cities in the Republic of Serbia, is „taking care of public information”. Content-wise, this jurisdiction implies ensuring the right to public information through the media (local or others, including the rules on state aid and project financing, rules on public procurement, etc.). However, there is another significant side related to the functioning of local self-government, which involves „informing the public”. It is about the obligation of local self-government to „provide” information to citizens at the local level, within the framework of work transparency and citizens' right to information, as well as the right established by the Constitution and laws. In this way, the public is informed about the work and procedures, as well as the implementation of certain public policies in the local self-government (e.g. through announcements about the work of LSG bodies, providing non-commercial audiovisual media services, issuing newsletters about the undertaken „actions” etc.). This paper is focused on the research, based on a sample of 25 municipalities and cities in the Republic of Serbia, in which way LSGs in the Republic of Serbia provide information to citizens at the local level, apart from through the (local) media. The research should present whether LSGs in the Republic of Serbia: (1) have the organizational, personnel, and other capacities to take care of informing the public and (2) the ways and forms through which LSGs independently of registered (local) media provide information to the general public at the local level.

The paper analyzes the institutional mechanisms of youth participation in the creation and implementation of public policies, with a focus on the local level. The paper highlights the importance of young people’s social capital for the development of a healthy and sustainable community. Through active participation, formal and informal association, and continuous communication with local institutions, young people develop opportunities to express and fulfill their rights and needs, while contributing to the overall development of the local community. The Law on Youth, which was adopted in the Republic of Serbia over 10 years ago, determines the ways of organizing youth, but there have been numerous problems in its implementation. Using the metod of content analysis of legal norms, primarily the Law on Youth and National Youth Strategies, institutional problems of youth organization are presented, and specific normative solutions that could become part of a new youth law are proposed. Special emphasis is placed on the institutional framework of youth organization at the local level, where youth offices, youth spaces and youth work are analyzed. The results of the analysis have shown numerous problems resulting from unclear and insufficiently developed provisions of the law on these issues. Additionally, the paper presents comparative solutions for the same issues in certain European Union member states and Western Balkans countries.

Besides the general administrative procedure stipulated in detail in the Law on General Administrative Procedure, there are numerous special administra­tive procedures in the Republic of Serbia, contained in sectoral laws that reg­ulate certain areas. This is the case in the field of property-related legal affairs e.g. in connection with nationalization, expropriation, colonization, restitution, etc. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of special administra­tive procedures and their „reflections” on the exercise of the right of citizens to peaceful enjoyment of their property, as well as procedures providing for the possibility that the state in the public interest restrict this right. Also, the analysis should determine how this special legal regime affects the efficient and effective exercise of the right to peaceful enjoyment of property on the one hand and on the other what is the real scope of administrative-procedural protection.

European integration process influences to the harmonization of different areas of law. The concept of the European Administrative Space in the European Union has been developing for the last thirty years. It includes the set of minimum common principles and standards governing the organization, activities and functioning of administrative bodies in the Member States and potential candidates as well. This includes significant changes and administrative reform in the process of Serbia’s membership negotiations. Serbian administrative capacities have to be in compliance with the standards of the European Administrative Space with purpose that in the future Serbia or its administration can successfully implement the regulations adopted by the Union. The process of administrative reform in Serbia is carrying out for ten years. In different cycles this process was faster or slower. Comparative analysis of the European administrative space standards and the process of administrative reform in Serbia indicate that Serbia, perhaps not fast enough, is increasingly adapting to these standards.