The Serbian legislative assembly of 1870: a step towards parliamentarism

Abstract

The National Assembly (Narodna skupština) of the Principality of Serbia was for the most part an advisory body until the ‘Regency’ Constitution of 1869 gave it legislative powers (although inferior to the prince's, as it had no legislative initiative) and a more (though not completely) democratic composition. On the one hand, the subsequent National Assembly that convened in 1870 was held according to the provisions of the new constitution of 1869 and was tasked, among other things, to pass a number of organic laws that would regulate the constitutional framework in more detail. On the other hand, the members of the National Assembly had no experience in legislation or other new powers that the National Assembly gained in 1869, and their overall level of education was fairly low. Just as the Regency Constitution of 1869 was a compromise and a middle phase that led to, but did not yet introduce, parliamentarism in Serbia, this first session of the reformed National Assembly was a middle phase in its conquest of legislative power. This article analyses the work of the 1870 National Assembly and shows to what extent the democratic elements newly prescribed by the constitution were actually present in its proceedings.