In November, the Constitutional Court reminded the Government and Parliament that time was running out for them to react, before the judges assessed the constitutionality of Article 35A of the Internal Trade Act, which prohibits work on Sundays.
First jump, then say hop – these are the proverbs that MPs, primarily from PES, should follow. After a TV Vijesti report that Sunday could become a working day again, PES members triumphantly proposed an amended Internal Trade Act on November 10. To this day, the controversial Article 35A has not been amended.
And the judges won't wait long to do so. Constitutional Court President Snezana Armenko says they have approached this issue with particular care, since the law has brought some employees a guaranteed day off per week for the first time.
"Therefore, space has been left to reach an agreement in accordance with the legal positions and understandings of the Constitutional Court, which were presented in the decision to initiate the proceedings. However, bearing in mind that an agreement has clearly not been reached, the Constitutional Court will make a decision at one of the following sessions, in accordance with the legal positions expressed in the decision to initiate the proceedings," Armenko pointed out.
When asked if it could be as early as January, she replied: "At one of the first upcoming sessions."
This means that, if not by the end of January, they will decide by the beginning of February at the latest. If nothing changes by then, the Sunday holiday will most likely be declared unconstitutional, according to the decision to initiate the procedure.
While waiting for this, non-governmental organizations that have been continuously requesting it have waited for the court to publish for the first time today a list of pending cases from the control of the law, which it will update quarterly, and 2026 will be predominantly dedicated to resolving them.
"By publishing this list, every citizen will have the opportunity to learn which legal and by-law solutions have been challenged before the Constitutional Court, how long the Constitutional Court's decision is awaited, and what the decision is on the matter. As of today, in the area of normative control, we have a total of 161 cases challenging the law, as well as 187 cases challenging the by-law. The oldest case dates back to 2018," explained the President of the Constitutional Court.
Armenko adds that this is just one of the steps the Constitutional Court is taking to make its work more transparent and thereby strengthen citizens' trust.
"By assuming the position of President of the Constitutional Court, I promised to fulfill three goals by the end of my presidential term - speed and efficiency, transparency and consistency in our decisions. Two of the three goals have already been fulfilled," she emphasized.
The lengthy resolution of constitutional complaints has been a pressing problem for years, and Armenko points out that they have achieved measurable results in this field in the last 18 months.
"Which has also been recognized by international partners, at international addresses, since today we do not have any items older than 2 years," she added.
The president concludes that two new constitutional court advisors will help them work more efficiently and with better quality on pending cases.
And, the selection of new constitutional judges depends on the MPs, who are physically close to them, that is, they are separated by a street, but in the previous period, they were willingly far away from them.
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