Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Introduction. – 2. The meaning of the corruption concept in the Serbian language and the legal definition of corruption. – 3. The concept of political corruption and democratic consolidation as the highest level of political transformation of a society. – 4. Types of political corruption in Serbia. – 4.1. “Market” of parliamentary mandates: decision of Constitutional Court of Serbia IY-197/2002; binding of specific instructions (Art. 102 par. 2 Constitution of the Republic of Serbia). – 4.2. Conflict of interests of high-ranking State officials: soft measures; scrutinizing assets of State officials, Agency for fight against corruption. – 5. Conclusion.

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between corruption, politics and democratization, with a special emphasis on Serbia. The author first writes about the meaning of the concept of corruption in the Serbian and other languages and about the legal meaning of this concept in Serbia. Subsequently, she addresses concepts of democratic consolidation and political corruption. The body of the article regards the analysis of the ”market” of parliamentary mandates and the conflicts of interests of high-ranking state officials as characteristic forms of political corruption in the Serbian society during transition. With the goal of better informing professionals and academics the author broadly analyzes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Serbia (IY-197/2002), discussing the problems of the imperative mandate (art. 102 par. 2 Constitution of the Republic of Serbia) as well as the problem of scrutinizing assets of state officials and soft measures which are standardized by the Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interests during Exertion of Public Functions. In her conclusion, the author discusses the steps Serbia has undertaken in the fight against corruption (National Strategy, the Action Plan and the Agency for the Fight Against Corruption) and the hurdles that still need to be overcome.