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The institution of the President of the Republic of Serbia was established under the 2006 constitution. Previous experience of the country was limited in terms of the structure of the executive power. In 1953, the office of President of Yugoslavia was introduced in the former Yugoslavia. From 1971, the function of the head of state was performed by the collective Presidium of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), consisting of representatives of individual republics and autonomous districts (i.e. Vojvodina and Kosovo). The presidium was headed by Tito, who was president for life. After his death in 1980, the function of the chairman of the Presidium was held by representatives of the republic on a rotating basis. The office of the President of the Republic of Serbia was introduced by the Basic Law of 1990 (still within the framework of the functioning of the Yugoslav federation). The provisions of the Constitution define the powers of the head of state, which are characteristic of parliamentary systems. The current president is also the president of a political party, which means that his prerogatives go far beyond the provisions provided for in the constitution.

Views on the institution of direct democracy have changed during the period of democratic transition. The various advantages and positive effects of direct democracy have been confirmed by the practice of some democratic countries. Its educational and political activation value for society was also noted, without which civil society cannot form. The referendum is especially treated as the purest form of correlation between the views of society and the decisions of its representatives. In a situation where two representative bodies are present – the parliament and the president – a referendum is considered a means of resolving disputes between them in important state affairs. The referendum is nowadays becoming more than just a binding or consultative opinion on a legislative act, especially a constitution. First and foremost, it is important to see the extension of the type and scope of issues that are subject to direct voting. Apart from the traditional, i.e., constitutional changes, polarising issues that raise considerable emotion have become the subject of referenda. Problems of this type include, in particular, moral issues, membership in international organisations, and so-called 'New Policy'. This article presents the role and importance of the referendum as an institution shaping the democratic systems of the Black Sea Region.

Parliament is the body of legislative power and, along with the government and the head of state, it plays the most important role in the state. The article concerns the analysis of the parliamentary institutions in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Kosovo, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Macedonia. The method used in the study was a system analysis and a comparative method, thanks to which we can see the similarities and differences in the functioning of the parliaments. In the analyzed countries, parliaments are subjects that influence political processes and the creation of law. The creators of the constitution had to take into account the traditions of parliamentarism as well as the complicated nationality situation in the countries.

Przedmiotem analizy jest pozycja ustrojowa głowy państwa w Bośni i Hercegowinie. Państwo posiada specyficzne rozwiązania ustrojowe, które zostały ustanowione w wyniku porozumienia w Dayton. Głowę państwa stanowi trzyosobowe prezydium składające się z Serba, Chorwata i Bośniaka. W artykule zaprezentowano procedurę wyborczą, kompetencje i odpowiedzialność tej wyjątkowej Prezydencji.

Przedmiotem analizy jest pozycja ustrojowa głowy państwa w Bośni i Hercegowinie. Państwo posiada specyficzne rozwiązania ustrojowe, które zostały ustanowione w wyniku porozumienia w Dayton. Głowę państwa stanowi trzyosobowe prezydium składające się z Serba, Chorwata i Bośniaka. W artykule zaprezentowano procedurę wyborczą, kompetencje i odpowiedzialność tej wyjątkowej Prezydencji.

The institution of the referendum is one of the forms of direct democracy. Referendums are understood as direct suffrage on important matters of state, or a part of its territory, that constitute the subject of the vote. In the processes of democratic transformation, outlooks on this institution of direct democracy evolve. Referendums have become a tool to express the will of the nation to choose in matters of sovereignty. This form of asking the nation has turned out to be effective for those communities with a strong sense of national identity and the belief that it is necessary for the state to be revived as a sovereign entity. The results of the referenda held in the Baltic states, in the Balkans and Ukraine have confirmed their peoples' wills to independently exist within the framework of a sovereign state. ; The institution of the referendum is one of the forms of direct democracy. Referendums are understood as direct suffrage on important matters of state, or a part of its territory, that constitute the subject of the vote. In the processes of democratic transformation, outlooks on this institution of direct democracy evolve. Referendums have become a tool to express the will of the nation to choose in matters of sovereignty. This form of asking the nation has turned out to be effective for those communities with a strong sense of national identity and the belief that it is necessary for the state to be revived as a sovereign entity. The results of the referenda held in the Baltic states, in the Balkans and Ukraine have confirmed their peoples' wills to independently exist within the framework of a sovereign state.

Slovenia is one of the European Union Member States which disproportionately restricted political rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the new government of Prime Minister Janez Janša came to power in March 2020, the anti-government and anti-lockdown protests have been taking place across the country. The pandemic-related restrictions have been introduced by government's ordinances. They have greatly limited political rights of citizens, in particular the right to public assembly and association. Citizens' dissatisfaction with the government's policies and inadequate handling of the epidemic, resulting in undue restrictions on liberty and other fundamental rights, led to the filing of petitions to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court, resolving the dispute between citizens and the government, ruled that government regulations implementing restrictions on fundamental rights, particularly the rights to public assembly and association, were unconstitutional in several cases. ; Elżbieta Kużelewska - e.kuzelewska@uwb.edu.pl ; Małgorzata Podolak - Malgorzata.Podolak@umcs.lublin.pl ; Elżbieta Kużelewska – University Professor at the Department of Constitutional Law and Political Systems, Faculty of Law, University of Bialystok, Poland, where since October 2019 she holds a position of Vice-Dean for Science. She is a Chair of the Centre for Direct Democracy Studies (CDDS) at the Faculty of Law, University of Bialystok. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of European Integration and Democracy Series, published by Intersentia: Cambridge-Antwerp-Chicago. ; Małgorzata Podolak – University Professor at the Department of Political Systems and Human Rights, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland. Author of papers on direct democracy, environmental policy and political systems of European states. ; Elżbieta Kużelewska: University of Białystok, Poland ; Małgorzata Podolak: Maria Curie-Skłodowska Univiersity, Poland ; Bardutzky S., Limits in Times of Crisis: on Limitations ...

On 26 January 2023, a law amending the Electoral Code was adopted. The article aims to analyse the accepted solutions in the context of current political practice and voters' decisions. The publication is enriched with considerations on research on voter turnout and absenteeism, as well as a description of the main changes introduced by the 2011 amendment to the Electoral Code.