Law on Public Assembly
Law 6/2016 regulates peaceful public assemblies and organisers’ duties. Outdoor assemblies must be notified to the competent Interior Ministry unit at least five days before commencement.
Avangarda does not provide legal representation. These materials are here to inform and to make rights easier to understand. For a concrete legal procedure, contact a lawyer, legal aid service or the relevant institution.
Freedom of peaceful assembly
The Public Assembly Act governs the organisation and conduct of peaceful public gatherings in Serbia, including moving assemblies. The applicable text was published in Official Gazette RS 6/2016; no subsequently enacted amendment was found in the official sources reviewed. Participants may express their views, while organisers must supervise the gathering, provide stewards and keep access clear for ambulances, police and fire services.
For an outdoor assembly, the organiser submits written notification to the Ministry of Interior unit responsible for the location or the starting point of the route. Article 12 requires notification at least five days before the gathering begins. It identifies the organiser, place, time, programme, purpose and safety arrangements. Moving assemblies also require the route and means of movement. Under Article 14, notification must be complete and timely. Missing information must be supplied within 12 hours; failure to remedy deficiencies means the assembly has not been notified.
Article 13 exempts, among other cases, indoor gatherings and genuinely spontaneous peaceful assemblies without an organiser, held as an immediate reaction to an event. An organised invitation to protest does not become spontaneous merely through that label. Organisers of exempt gatherings notify police when they consider police safety measures necessary.
For example, an association planning a peaceful pollution protest in a public square prepares notification and stewarding arrangements. If participants will march, the route must be included. A meeting of the same association inside a hall follows a different notification regime. Exemption from notification does not remove the other statutory conditions for peaceful assembly.
An appeal against a decision prohibiting the gathering must be submitted to the Ministry of Interior within 24 hours of receipt. The appeal must be decided within 24 hours of its receipt; administrative court proceedings may then be initiated. An appeal does not suspend the prohibition. Retain the decision and evidence of when it was received.
This explanation is informational; translations are editorial, not official. Check the applicable provisions and any decision issued for your particular gathering.
What is this for?
Helps plan an assembly and understand notification and protection.
Who can use it?
Organisers, participants, stewards and the competent Interior Ministry unit.
When should it be used?
When arranging a peaceful assembly or challenging a prohibition.