This work is aimed at analysing the factors imposing limitations on the legislative function of parliament in the modern constitutional state. The legislative function has clearly been loosing its initial quality of the original and exclusive parliamentary function, because there is a number of legal and political limitations: the judicial review by the constitutional court; the role of the government in the legislative process; the internal organization of parliament, as well as the position of a member of parliament in the parliamentary groups. The constitutional court, through its interactive relation with parliament, has specific task to have a retroactive influence on the lawmakers. The strong domination of the government over the legislative activity expressed through the legislative initiative, an influence on the order of priorities in decision-making processes, to participate in discussions without any limitations and to eventually influence the outcome of the decision-making process using the motion of censure as a means of exerting pressure on the members of parliament, especially those belonging to the parliamentary majority. Taking into account the range and the strength of the impact that the parliamentary committees have, parliaments could be divided into 'the working assemblies' and 'the talking assemblies'. Finally, the nature of the parliamentary mandate (an MP's term of office) is no longer related to certain traditional values of the representative democracy. The significance and the character of the term of office are adjusted to the political framework of parliament in a contemporary constitutional state. It is the question of the relation between the people represented and the ones who represent them. .
The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.
The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.
The paper discusses the role of the European Parliament in the inter-institutional quest for power on the ground of the effectiveness of its control over the supra- national institutions and bodies with the intelligence function as well as in the protection of the right to privacy. The starting assumption is that, despite the Lisbon reform, the powers and jurisdiction of the European Parliament are still quite limited with a view to oversight of the EU policy implementation and the performance of the EU institutions, respectively. The author examines the following cases: the recently revealed practice of massive electronic surveillance of the EU citizens' communication, the unselective processing of personal data, and the semi-secretive set up of a supranational intelligence function out of the MEPs' reach. The analyzed cases show that the European Parliament's control powers are weak when it comes to the issues that demand a narrow technical expertise, but still can endanger civil rights. The author concludes that the protection of the right to privacy can indicate the real power of the Parliament in future dynamics of the supranational institutional framework.
Rad analizira problem neadekvatne teritorijalne reprezentacije parlamenata koji se biraju putem proporcionalnog izbornog sistema sa jednom izbornom jedinicom. Predmet posmatranja su predstavnička tela Srbije, Holandije i Izraela sa tvrdnjama da na njihovu geografsku reprezentativnost dominantno utiču faktori koji nemaju direktne veze sa izbornim pravilima, kao što su etnička struktura društva i broj lista koje prelaze cenzus. Utvrđuje se da ne postoji jedinstvena pravilnost koja utiče na geografski sastav parlamenta u svakoj od ovih država, već se presudni faktori teritorijalne reprezentativnosti razlikuju u zavisnosti od društvenog konteksta u kome izborni sistem egzistira. ; This paper analyzes the problem of insufficient territorial representation of parliaments elected through a proportional electoral system with a nationwide electoral district. The subject of analysis are the representative bodies of Serbia, the Netherlands, and Israel, with the claim that their geographical representativeness is dominantly influenced by factors that have no direct connection with election rules, such as the ethnic diversity of society and the number of party lists that win seats in parliament. It is established that there is no single regularity that has an equal effect on the geographical composition of the parliament in each of these countries. Instead of that, the key factors of territorial representation are different depending on the social context in which the electoral system exists.
The article looks into the changes in the party and the social structure of the first House of the Croatian parliament (Sabor) in the transitional period. A total of twenty-six political parties have had seats in the Parliament; sixteen of them secured their place in it through a prior support of the electoral body, while ten of them secured their parliamentary status solely through individual lists. The author shows that the party fragmentation has occurred due to the process of parliamentary parties' factioning and the transfer of delegates from the parliamentary into the non-parliamentary parties. The degree of the party fragmentation in the Sabor is considered moderate and not disruptive for the functioning of the Parliament. This is due to the continued and stupendous mandate dominance of the majority party and to the fact that the party fragmentation has primarily involved the opposition parties. An analysis of the social/demographic characteristics of the representatives has shown that the Sabor is dominated by male, college-educated, forty-eight years old Croats with a bit more than four years of parliamentary experience. The educational structure of the Sabor does not differ much from other European parliaments, but the number of senior representatives is somewhat higher than in other European countries, while the share of women is the standards. It has been suggested that the most effective strategy the Croatian parliamentary political parties could employ regarding the gender and age representation are internally determined quotas for women and young people on their candidates' lists for elections. This would indirectly influence the social structure sof the Croatian parliament. (SOI : PM: S. 174)
The authors analyse the constitutional position of the Polish parliament after the democratic revolution of 1989 as well as its internal political dynamics. The parliament has two houses, endowed with different constitutional competences: Sejm (lower House) and Senate (upper House). The 460 members of the Sejm were elected in three electoral cycles (1989, 1991, and 1993) by means of majority and a proportional electoral system with various prohibitive clauses, while the 100 senators were elected by the majority electoral system. The changes in the electoral rules resulted in the altered parliamentary "contractual" Sejm. The seats (in accordance with a political agreement) were divided between the ruling communist bloc and the oppositional "Solidarity", the first freely elected Sejm had an extremely fragmented party structure with 28 parties, while the second Sejm is moderately pluralist, with two parties of the government coalition and four opposition parties. The most remarkable feature of the Polish political culture is an increasing professionalization of the parliament members as well as a growing political apathy of general public and a meagre turnout at the polls. (SOI : PM: S. 120)
Oвa диcepтaциje ce бaви законодавнoм функцијoм паpламентa и њeгoвим oднocoм ca дpyгим кoнкpeтним инcтитyциjaмa, кoje пpeyзимajy oд парламента пoвjepeнe мy надлежности, yзpoкyjyjyћи њeгoвy мapгинaлизaциjy. Oвaj пpoцec ниje нoв, aли пocтaje cвe комплeкcниjи. Нa почeткy cy тo билe влaдa и политичке партије, aли ce вpeмeнoм бpoj cyбjeкaтa кojи yгpoжaвajy законодавнy надлежност паpламентa пoвeћaвao. У oвoм кoнкpeтнoм питaњy, парламент ce cyoчaвa ca oзбиљним изaзoвимa, диjeлeћи надлежност joш и ca шeфoм дpжaвe, ycтaвним cyдoм, нeзaвиcним peгyлaтopим тиjeлимa. Нaжaлocт, тy ниje кpaj. Пpoцec eвpoпcкиx интeгpaциja, кpoз eвpoпcкy лeгиcлaтивy, кpeиpao je jeднy нoвy oблacт законодавнe дjeлaтнocти изyзeтe oд надлежности нaциoнaлниx парламенaта. Cнaжнe и вeoмa диcциплинoвaнe политичке партије дoминиpajy, нe caмo политичким пpoцecимa, вeћ и кoмплeтним парламентарним пpoцeдypaмa и њиxoв нapacтajyћи yтицaj yгpoжaвa пoдjeлy влacти кojy ycпocтaвљa ycтaв и пpoyзpoкyje прoблeме y фyнкциoниcaњy парламентa yoпштe. C oбзиpoм нa њиxoв знaчaj, oнe cy y oвoм paдy aнaлизиpaнe кao нeпocpeдни aктep, aли и индиpeктнo, кao чинилaц кojи кoнтpoлишe oдpeђeнe инcтитyциje кoje yгpoжaвajy законодавнy надлежност парламента. Знaчaj диcepтaциje oглeдa ce y тoмe штo oвoj пpoблeмaтици дo caдa ниje пocвeћeнa пyнa пaжњa, кoja yкљyчyje пpoцec eвpoпcкиx интeгpaциja и нeзaвиcниx peгyлaтopниx тиjeлa. Зaкљyчaк кojи cмo дoниjeли нaкoн иcтpaживaњa je дa oчиглeднo пocтojи пoтpeбa за парламентарнoм peфopмoм коja ћe yчинити законодавни пocтyпaк eфикacниjим, a законодавнo тиjeлo cнaжниjим. Гeнepaлнo, cмaтpaмo дa je нeoпxoднo cнaжeњe тpaдициoнaлнe пoдjeлe влacти. Диcepтaциja тaкoђe пpeдлaжe cпeцифичнa кoнкpeтнa pjeшeњa y кoнтeкcтy peфopмe законодавнoг пocтyпкa. ; Ova diceptacije ce bavi zakonodavnom funkcijom paplamenta i njegovim odnocom ca dpygim konkpetnim inctitycijama, koje ppeyzimajy od parlamenta povjepene my nadležnosti, yzpokyjyjyći njegovy mapginalizacijy. Ovaj ppocec nije nov, ali poctaje cve komplekcniji. Na početky cy to bile vlada i političke partije, ali ce vpemenom bpoj cybjekata koji ygpožavajy zakonodavny nadležnost paplamenta povećavao. U ovom konkpetnom pitanjy, parlament ce cyočava ca ozbiljnim izazovima, dijeleći nadležnost još i ca šefom dpžave, yctavnim cydom, nezavicnim pegylatopim tijelima. Nažaloct, ty nije kpaj. Ppocec evpopckix integpacija, kpoz evpopcky legiclativy, kpeipao je jedny novy oblact zakonodavne djelatnocti izyzete od nadležnosti nacionalnix parlamenata. Cnažne i veoma dicciplinovane političke partije dominipajy, ne camo političkim ppocecima, već i kompletnim parlamentarnim ppocedypama i njixov napactajyći yticaj ygpožava podjely vlacti kojy ycpoctavlja yctav i ppoyzpokyje probleme y fynkcionicanjy parlamenta yopšte. C obzipom na njixov značaj, one cy y ovom pady analizipane kao nepocpedni aktep, ali i indipektno, kao činilac koji kontpoliše odpeđene inctitycije koje ygpožavajy zakonodavny nadležnost parlamenta. Značaj diceptacije ogleda ce y tome što ovoj ppoblematici do cada nije pocvećena pyna pažnja, koja ykljyčyje ppocec evpopckix integpacija i nezavicnix pegylatopnix tijela. Zakljyčak koji cmo donijeli nakon ictpaživanja je da očigledno poctoji potpeba za parlamentarnom pefopmom koja će yčiniti zakonodavni poctypak efikacnijim, a zakonodavno tijelo cnažnijim. Genepalno, cmatpamo da je neopxodno cnaženje tpadicionalne podjele vlacti. Diceptacija takođe ppedlaže cpecifična konkpetna pješenja y kontekcty pefopme zakonodavnog poctypka. ; This dissertation is dealing with legislative parliament function and its relation with other particular institutions that take away stipulated powers from parliament causing his marginalization. This process is not new but it"s become more complex to deal with. In the beginning there was government and political parties, but during the time, number of actors that threaten the legislative competence of parliament increased. On this particular issue, modern parliament facing difficult challenges, sharing his competence with head of the state, constitutional court, independent regulatory agencies. Unfortunatelly, that is not the end. EU integration process, through the European legislation, creates new area of legislative activity excluded from the national parliaments. Strong and highly disciplined political parties are dominating not only political process but whole parliamentary procedures, and its increasing influence causes further damage to separation of powers that constitution establishes and harms parliament particulary. Considering their impact in this process, they are studied in this work directly, and indirectly – as an acter that control other particular institutions which threaten legislative competence of parliament. The importance of the dissertation is reflected in the fact that this issue does not have full attention including EU integration process, indepedent regulatory bodies. The conslusion that we made after the research is that obviously there is a need for parliamentary reform which will make law-making process more efficient, and legislative body stronger. Basically, we find it necessary strengthening of the traditional separation of powers. Dissertation also proposes specific solutions in the context of the law-making process reform.
The archival material about the Croatian Parliament during the World War Two is kept in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb and it is an important source for studying the period of the Independent State of Croatia. The author presents a short survey of the archival material, pointing out its value in studying political, social and economic situation in the Independent State of Croatia. (SOI : CSP: S. 590)
Tenth elections for the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia since the reestablishment of a multiparty system were held on March 16th, 2014, under a proportional electoral system. Electoral model essentially established in 2000 also included a single electoral district, closed party lists, five percent electoral threshold for non-minority parties and a use of D'Hondt formula for distribution of seats. Most important results of the March elections include: the lowest voter turnout and close to half of the votes won by the Serbian Progressive Party (which, in turn, gave them 63% of parliament members). Moreover, more than 80 percent of the seats was won by lists led by governing parties, i. e. Progressive or Socialist party. Elections were also not just a disaster for Democratic party, but also for Democratic Party of Serbia, Liberal Democratic Party, and United Regions of Serbia, which all lost seats in the National Assembly. Traditional success of the minority parties of most numerous national minorities (i.e. Hungarians, Bosniaks and Albanians) was noted. Also, for the first time, the parliament will convene without so-called sovereignists and opponents of European integration process. Finally, March elections were marked by a large number of squandered votes.
The author publishes an unknown document of Janko Tortic (1902-1962), Croatian Peasant Party member of the parliament. Since 1927 Tortic was the leader of the Intelligence Office of the Main Secretariate of the Croatian Peasant Party and the editor of the Party newspaper. After the putsch of general Simovic he participated in creating the independent Croatian state. During the war he collaborated with the Independent State of Croatia's authorities. Owing to his activity, many followers of the Croatian Peasant Party joined the Ustasha movement, and Tortic himself became a member of the government. After World War Two he emigrated to the USA, where he died. Tortic's document is important for the research work on the activity of the Croatian Peasant Party, especially the events which occurred immediately before the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia. The document is provided with an introduction and notes. (SOI : CSP: S. 367)
The author continues his research work on Croatian constitutional tradition. This tradition includes the system of national values on which Croatian politicians in the l9th century founded their national programs. Therefore, the author tries to analyze the basic values and structures included in that tradition, to explore its genesis, and to investigate its historical influence on the development of political and social life in Croatia. In his opinion, other authors did not consider this tradition either a "dogma" or an "ideology", as the recent historiography puts it, because here the legal and sociopolitical values, on which the new political, state and social system is founded, are in question. Out of abundant researches on that subject, the author singles out only the analysis of the "Address" which Croatian Parliament, after a long discussion, brought in 1861 as its most important document, i.e. as the national program which was presented to the king in the form of demands. (SOI : CSP: S. 267f.)
The European Parliament and the European Council have adopted the Directive 2008/96/EC relating to the safety of traffic infrastructure. This Directive binds the EU Member States to implement the guidelines on roads comprising the parts of the Trans-European traffic network, regardless of the stage those roads are in. EU Member States have a possibility to adopt the guidelines and regulations from the Directive and build them into the national regulations on parts of the roads that are not a part of the Trans-European roads. Based on the facts stated above, there is a research problem in a form of a question "Can the Directive 2008/96/EC be applied in the traffic in Bosnia and Herzegovina?" i.e. are its guidelines implemented as a manner of approximation with the EU regulations, and what are the effects of its implementation. This is a traffic problem in its nature, closely related to road traffic safety, and we find the answer to the research problem in theoretical and empirical research in this area.
The impact of the EU on the implementation of the policy of equal opportunities for women can be seen from harmonization of legislation and construction of institutions for protection of women's rights, and through participation of women in decision-making processes. The first part of the article discusses the theoretical framework for research the effects of institutionalization of gender equality in the EU. In the second section the institutional and legal framework are represented as a part of the global strategy aimed at achieving gender equality. The problems dealt with in the third part of the article concerning the presence of women at different levels of decision-making in the European Union. The newest data base from gender research for European Commission and European Parliament is used for this research. Index of Gender Equality (EIGE) shows that there are huge differences between Member States and that the EU is only halfway to achieving gender equality. Therefore, the integration of gender perspective in all fields and searching for measures to achieve higher level of gender equality are the focal points in EU gender politics.
