The parliament of the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes: projects, the constitution, and reality (1918–29)

Abstract

The kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, founded in 1918, enacted its first constitution (the Vidovdan–St. Vitus Day–constitution) on 28 June 1921. This constitution remained in force until 6 January 1929. Although various projects and drafts existed for the constitution, with very different concepts of what the parliament should look like, the one finally adopted was largely based on the Serbian constitution of 1903, with a more or less classical unicameral parliamentary model. However, in practice, the parliament was weak and frequently hindered by obstructions, and the king (Alexander Karađorđević) played the leading role. This article focuses on presenting the position of the parliament according to the Vidovdan constitution, but with a glance both backwards and forwards–to the alternatives that were proposed in other constitutional projects (and the Serbian constitution of 1903), and to how these constitutional regulations performed (or failed to perform) in practice.