PRINCIPLE OF ADVERSARINESS IN THE PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: REVIEW OF JUDGMENT OF EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The purpose of this paper was to tackle the principle of adversariness in the proceedings before the Serbian Constitutional Court. Two applications have been filed to the European Court of Human Rights because of inability of the applicants to participate in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court in which final judgments in their favour were quashed. The applicants complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that the Constitutional Court had failed to inform them of the constitutional appeals lodged against the judgments in their favour and that, as a result, they had not had an opportunity to participate effectively in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court. According to the case law of European Court of Human Rights the principle of adversariness in court proceedings also includes the proceedings before Constitutional Court. Since the applicants were not provided with an opportunity to participate effectively in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court, there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention on this account. In future Serbian Constitutional Court would have to secure the application of adversariness principle in the proceedings instigated by constitutional appeals.