Savic: The constitutional history of Kosovo begins after the Second World War

Historian Aleksandar Savic, Assistant Professor at the Department of History of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, told Kosovo Online that the Sretenje Constitution is of decisive importance for Serbia because it represents the first constitution of the modern Serbian state.

“The Sretenje Constitution is significant for Serbia because it was the first constitution adopted by the modern Serbian state. It should be recalled that this date is very important, since in 1804 the First Serbian Uprising began, that is, the Serbian revolution, the most important result of which was the creation of the modern Serbian state, which in the 1830s acquired autonomous status within the Ottoman Empire,” Savic stated.

Speaking about the circumstances of that time, he said that the internal struggle between Prince Miloš Obrenovic and his political opponents resulted in a rebellion that compelled him to adopt a constitution in 1835. Dimitrije Davidovic played a prominent role in drafting the constitution.

“Serbia believed it had the right to adopt a constitution as an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire, and Prince Miloš was persuaded of this by Dimitrije Davidovic, one of the most educated Serbs of that era, originally from Austria-Hungary but in the service of Serbia since the 1820s. Davidovic drafted the constitution in some twenty days, but of course he had previously worked on constitutional drafts and therefore had extensive material prepared,” Savic explained.

According to him, the constitution was proclaimed at a special assembly held on Sretenje, from which it derived its name, although it was not formally adopted on that holiday.

He also pointed to the reasons why the great powers opposed its adoption.

“The great powers, primarily the Ottoman Empire as Serbia’s sovereign, believed that Serbia had thereby exceeded the limits of its autonomy and did not wish to allow it. Russia, as the protector and guarantor of that autonomy, joined them. Austria also joined, considering it dangerous, since it itself was not constitutionally organized, and they often referred to that constitution as a ‘French nursery in a Turkish forest,’” Savic said.

He recalled that the constitution was also criticized because of its provisions.

“Particularly contentious were the articles concerning equality of all citizens before the law and the provision that any slave who set foot on the territory of Serbia would become free,” Savic noted.

The historian emphasized three key characteristics of the Sretenje Constitution.

“The significance of that constitution lies in the fact that it was the first Serbian constitution, that it limited the absolutist rule of Prince Miloš, and that it was adopted without the consent of the sovereign and the protector. Although it restricted the authority of Miloš Obrenovic, he nevertheless believed it should be defended against the great powers, but in the end he was forced to suspend it,” Savic said.

According to him, the constitution was short-lived.

“The constitution was effectively in force for two weeks and was finally suspended on April 11, after 55 days of validity,” he stated.

Speaking about the constitutions that were significant for Kosovo, Savic stressed that this territory did not exist as a separate entity before 1945.

“The territory of Kosovo and Metohija was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912, after which it was annexed to the Kingdom of Serbia, and in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, that is, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, it did not exist as a separate unit, although certain constitutions also applied to that territory,” Savic said.

He stated that the constitutional history of Kosovo begins after the Second World War.

“Its significance in constitutional terms begins in 1945, when the Autonomous Kosovo-Metohija Region was established by law of the National Assembly of Serbia. This was confirmed by the 1946 Constitution of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia and the 1947 Constitution of the People’s Republic of Serbia,” Savic emphasized.

According to him, subsequent development led to the formation of a province.

“Over time, in accordance with the intentions of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, that is, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, efforts were made for the Autonomous Kosovo-Metohija Region to evolve into an autonomous province, similar to Vojvodina. The culmination of that process was the 1963 Constitution,” Savic stated.

He added that constitutional changes in the late 1960s and early 1970s further transformed the province’s status.

“Through constitutional amendments, the name of the province was changed and ‘Metohija’ was removed. This was objectionable to the Albanian leadership. They believed it should be called Kosovo and Dukagjin. Belgrade did not agree with that, and in the end a compromise solution was found for it to become simply Kosovo, that is, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo. The culmination of that process was the 1974 Constitution, when the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina were equalized in status with Serbia,” Savic said.

He emphasized that this undermined Serbia’s sovereignty as one of the federal units and that from 1974 Serbia was officially divided into three parts.

“Serbia no longer had any real authority over them; it had it formally in legal terms, but not de facto, and thus the sovereignty of Serbia as one of the federal units was undermined,” Savic stated.

Savic pointed to attempts to correct this through constitutional amendments at the end of the 1980s.

“Through the constitutional amendments of 1989 and 1990, Serbia, to some extent, restored its authority over the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, and at that time the full name of the province was reinstated. Since then, it has been referred to as Kosovo and Metohija, both in the 1990 Constitution and in the Constitution adopted by the Republic of Serbia in 2006,” he said.

Finally, he noted that since then it has officially been regarded, in accordance with the constitutions, as an integral part of the Republic of Serbia.

“Hence the phrase ‘the southern Serbian province.’ However, the fact remains that in public discourse the term Kosovo is increasingly predominant, and we should nevertheless retain that official designation and uphold, as stated in the Constitution, that this is the territory of Kosovo and Metohija,” Savic concluded.