Law on Health Care

Serbia’s Law on Health Care governs the system in which health services are provided. It covers public responsibility for health, the organisation of health institutions and private practice, professional conditions for staff, quality and supervision. It links public authorities’ responsibilities to those of service providers, while other legislation also determines patients’ individual rights.

For a patient, the law helps identify who provides a service, which organisational and professional conditions the provider must satisfy, and where concerns about lawful operation or quality belong. Institutions and health professionals use it to check conditions for practising and their professional duties. The Ministry of Health and health inspection perform management and supervision functions within their respective powers. A complaint should identify the particular issue rather than assume that every body can decide every health dispute.

In practice, record the provider’s name, the service, date and circumstances of the problem. Keep medical records and any response from the institution. Separate organisational or professional standards from information, consent, privacy and complaint rights: the Law on Patients’ Rights is also relevant to those matters. Funding and entitlement under compulsory insurance are governed by the separate Law on Health Insurance. The fact that an institution provides a service does not make every service automatically free for every person.

The current legislative series includes Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia 25/2019, authentic interpretation 92/2023 and Constitutional Court decision 29/2025. The decision affects parts of earlier provisions, so the older ministry PDF ending with 92/2023 is insufficient. The source links to the specific current law in the Legal Information System. For an actual procedure, check the relevant provisions and the authority’s jurisdiction, especially where special health legislation also applies.

This is Avangarda’s editorial information overview, rather than the statutory text or advice for an individual case. This translation is editorial and is not an official translation of Serbian legislation. Check the current official text, special legislation and your documents for a specific situation, and obtain qualified legal assistance where needed.

Helps identify service organisation, conditions providers must meet and the appropriate supervisory route.

Patients and representatives, health professionals, institutions, private practices and authorities responsible for the health system.

When checking service conditions, a provider’s quality or lawful operation, or health inspection jurisdiction.