LAW ON LOBBYING PROPOSED BY THE SERBIAN LOBBYISTS ASSOCIATION

Definition of Lobbyists

Under the proposal, lobbying is defined as a specialised service for legitimate influencing on public policies and the public decision-making process. Lobbying is conducted by professional lobbyists who have acquired this status under the provisions of the law. Lobbyists receive compensation for their services in exchange for legitimate decision-making influencing.  The definition neglects in-house lobbyists and leaves them outside transparency requirements. However, in-house lobbyists are not prohibited from exercising lobbying. There is a great risk regarding “independent experts”, which act in a personal capacity within government bodies.

Registration

Registration is available only for citizens of Serbia. Limited to professional lobbyist who do not have any other employment besides lobbying. Lawyers formally prohibited from exercising lobbying.

Lobbying contract

The proposal defines the form and nature of the obligation between the client and professional lobbyists.

Enforcement Delegation

Enforcement is delegated to the Chamber of Lobbyists, which is established by the state and responsible to the state, even though it is not formally part of the public sector. The Chamber is financed through public funds, self-financing and private donations. The Ministry (to be determined) is competent in terms of the extraordinary control of the Chamber and lobbyists. The Chamber imposes disciplinary sanctions over its membership. The Chamber is in charge of the following tasks:

• Adopting of the Code of Conduct
• Adopting the curriculum for the lobbying exam and certification
• Adopting the rules for continuous improvement of educational standards for lobbyists
• Running the lobbying registry
• Running investigations on breaches of the Law on Lobbying and the Code of Conduct
• Issuing publicly available information upon request
• Providing dispute resolution for its membership
• Synchronizing domestic lobbying regulation with international best practices
• Cooperating with other lobbying associations internationally
• Publishing an annual report
• Dealing with other tasks delegated by the bylaws of the Chamber

Public Access

Publicly available information is managed both by the Chamber which runs the register, and the competent Ministry which receives lobbying reports. Thus, the information is not centralized and synchronized. While the registry is available online, it still remains unclear where and in which format the reports will be available. Reporting deadlines are quite long – one year. However, the scope of the reporting is satisfactory.

Revolving door

The Revolving Door is set at two years.