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Friday, 15 March, 2002, 13:14 GMT
Text of Serbia-Montenegro agreement
Agreement on principles
The agreement on principles of Relations between Serbia and Montenegro within the framework of a Union of States is signed by the participants in the talks: the President of the FRY, the Federal Deputy Prime Minister, the President of the Republic of Montenegro, the prime ministers of Serbia and Montenegro, and, as witness, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security.
The document shall be sent to the assemblies of the member-states and to the Federal Assembly for consideration.
Based on the opinions expressed in the Assembly debate and the Assembly resolutions, the constitutional commission whose members shall be delegated by the Serbian, Montenegrin, and FRY Assemblies shall undertake the drafting of a Constitutional Charter, the highest legal act of the Serbian-Montenegrin union of states.
The text of that act shall first be approved by the republic assemblies and then be presented to the Federal Assembly.
This procedure would affirm the elements of Serbian-Montenegrin statehood, which originate from the current de facto situation and the historical rights of the two member-states.
After a period of three years, the member-states have the right to initiate a procedure to change the statehood status or to leave the union of states.
In the event that Montenegro leaves the union of states, the international documents relating to the FRY, especially UN Security Council Resolution 1244, would relate in their entirety to Serbia as successor.
A member-state that avails itself of that right does not inherit any right to subjectivity under international law, and all contestable issues shall be regulated separately between the successor state and the newly created state.
In the event that both member-states declare their support for a change in the statehood status (independence) in a referendum procedure, all contestable issues shall be regulated in the succession process, in accordance with the procedure applied with regard to the former Yugoslavia.
Laws on a referendum shall be enacted by the member-states, taking into account internationally recognised democratic standards.
Name of the Union of States
Serbia and Montenegro.
Institutions of Serbia and Montenegro
The Assembly, the President, the Council of Ministers, and the Court.
A unicameral assembly with some degree of positive discrimination for deputies from Montenegro.
Laws on the election of deputies to the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro shall be enacted by the member-states in accordance with the principles established in the Constitutional Charter.
The existence of a mechanism to guard against member-states being outvoted is provided for.
President of Serbia and Montenegro
The president, who is elected by the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro, shall nominate the members of Council of Ministers and oversee their work.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers has five departments: foreign affairs, defence, international economic relations, internal economic relations, and the protection of human and minority rights.
The ministries' duties shall be specified at a later date.
Court of Serbia and Montenegro
The court has a constitutional and administrative judicial function and concerns itself with the standardisation of judicial practices.
The constitutional judicial function is exercised in relation to constitutional acts by the ministries of the Council of Ministers.
The court adopts legal positions and opinions relating to the standardization of judicial practices.
The court has no jurisdictional competence and has an equal number of judges from the member-states.
The Forces of Serbia and Montenegro are commanded by the Supreme Defence Council [VSO], which comprises three chairmen.
The VSO reaches decisions by consensus.
Recruits complete military service in the territory of their own member-state, with the possibility of serving in the territory of the other member-state if they desire.
Elections and appointments
After adoption of the Constitutional Charter in accordance with the provided procedure, elections shall be held and the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro shall be constituted, and the president of Serbia and Montenegro, the members of the Council of Ministers, and the judges of the Court of Serbia and Montenegro shall be elected.
Equal representation of the member-states shall be ensured in the bodies of the judicial and executive branches of government.
The possibility of rotation during a term in office is provided for. (At the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, the minister and his deputy from different member-states shall switch positions halfway through the term in office.)
Parity in the representation of the member-states in international organizations (United Nations, OSCE, EU, Council of Europe) shall be ensured through rotation, whereas separate models of representation shall be established for international financial organizations.
A separate agreement shall be reached concerning the proportion of representation of the member-states at diplomatic and consular missions of Serbia and Montenegro.
The Constitutional Charter shall be presented to the assemblies for their consideration by no later than the end of June 2002.
Dislocation of federal institutions
Individual federal institutions may have their seat in Podgorica.
Constitutional reconstruction of the member-states
As part of the activities to enact the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro, the member-states shall effect changes in their constitutions in accordance with the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro or adopt new constitutions by no later than the end of 2002.
The achieved level of economic reform in the member-states is the starting point for the structuring of reciprocal economic relations.
The member-states are responsible for the unimpeded functioning of the common market, including the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital.
The surmounting of existing differences, especially in the area of trade and customs policy, shall be ensured through harmonization of the economic systems of the member-states with the economic system of the EU.
In both cases, the economic reforms that have already been carried out in the member-states shall be taken into account, and approaches shall be adopted that will most quickly result in integration in the EU.
Transitional approaches to coordinating trade and customs policy must respect the interests of the member-states.
The European Union shall assist in the achievement of these goals and regularly supervise this process.
The modalities for achievement of these goals shall be formulated in parallel with the Constitutional Charter.
If one of the members believes that the other member is not satisfying the obligations arising from this Agreement with regard to the functioning of the common market and the harmonization of trade and customs policy, it retains the right to raise that question with the EU in the context of the stabilization and association process for the purpose of undertaking appropriate measures.
The EU issues guarantees that in the event that other conditions and criteria for the SAP (Stabilization and Association Process) are satisfied, the agreed principles of the constitutional order shall not constitute an obstacle to the rapid conclusion of an Agreement on Stabilization and Association.
The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica.
The Federal Deputy Prime Minister, Miroljub Labus.
The President of the Republic of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic.
In the presence of the European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.
In Belgrade, 14 March 2002.
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