Draft Law on Special Procedures for the Implementation of the Project of Construction and Reconstruction of Line Infrastructure Facilities of Special Importance to the Republic of Serbia enters the Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia

On Monday, December 2, 2019, the Draft Law on Special Procedures for the Implementation of the Project of Construction and Reconstruction of Line Infrastructure Facilities of Special

Importance to the Republic of Serbia (the”Law“) was introduced into the Assembly procedure. The Law is proposed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, while the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure (the “Ministry“) is the processor.

This Law primarily regulates the process of expropriation in the public interest, in order to secure all necessary permits for the construction of projects of public interest. The Law stipulates that its provisions apply to projects for the construction and reconstruction of line infrastructure facilities of particular importance to the Republic of Serbia. Procedures carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law shall be considered as urgent. The urgency of these procedures requires all competent authorities to promptly issue all necessary documentation for the implementation of the projects. The legislator also states in the Law which construction projects are of importance for the Republic of Serbia. The provisions of the Law stipulate that the Government’s decision, at the proposal of the Ministry, establishes a public interest in expropriation, and the same decision determines the final beneficiary of expropriation. It also defines who can be the beneficiary of expropriation within the meaning of this Law. The proposal for expropriation is submitted to the administration body competent for property affairs in the territory of which the real estate is located. This section of the Law provides all the necessary rules to complete the expropriation process as quickly as possible. The part of the Law relating to the construction and reconstruction of line infrastructure facilities first of all prescribes who can be the investor of the line infrastructure facility. It then prescribes expert control for construction projects as well as details regarding the construction process itself, that is, rules in case of change of the decision on the basis of which construction is performed. This part of the Law also regulates the building permit, which is provided for the construction of the building. In the event that it is necessary to remove the object built contrary to the law for the realization of the project carried out under this Law, the Law specifies what will be considered as evidence of the proper property legal basis. The Law also allows the application of international standards in the technical documentation, in which case it must state which international regulations, norms or standards apply. The Law defines the term metro, and it also prescribes conditions for managing infrastructure and providing metro transportation services. Part of the Law manages specifics regarding the public procurement procedure conducted for infrastructure projects of particular importance for the Republic of Serbia. These are projects to which the provisions of the Law apply. Thus, it is stipulated that in the case of public procurement, an open procedure shall be conducted, but that the provisions of the law governing public procurement relating to the procurement plan, prior notification, manner of proving mandatory and additional conditions for participation in the public procurement procedure shall not apply, as well as deadlines for submission of tenders and deadlines for decision-making by the Republic Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures. Further, it regulates the manner of proving the fulfillment of the conditions for participation in the public procurement procedure, then the deadline for submission of tenders. In certain cases, some other public procurement procedure may be carried out as prescribed by the law governing the procurement procedure. According to the provisions of the Law, the Government may decide that the regulations governing the public procurement procedure shall not apply to projects or to certain stages of a project in case of urgency or jeopardy of the project. They will then be subject to a special procedure for selecting a strategic partner. The Law also prescribes how a specific strategic partner selection procedure will be implemented, as well as the criteria for selecting a strategic partner.

The reason for proposing this law is to enable faster and more efficient realization of projects of importance for the Republic of Serbia. In its experience so far, the Ministry has determined that during the implementation of projects related to infrastructure construction and infrastructure projects of particular importance in the field of civil engineering, it takes a lot of time to resolve property relations before issuing permits, because of which projects are often delayed. As provided in the plan of work and budget for 2020, the Ministry begins the implementation of projects from the new investment cycle, and these are projects of infrastructural importance for the construction of roads and railways, by adopting this Law, the proponent wants to eliminate these deficiencies.