Foreigners in Their Own Country

The Federal Secretariat of Internal Affairs is drawing up a draft Citizenship Act; its contents are still a secret because it is to be proposed by the new prime minister's government. However, what has been said is that modern international solutions will be applied.

It has been decided that a citizenship of the F.R. of Yugoslavia is at the same time a citizen of one of its constituent republics. The fact that somebody was a citizen of the SFRY does not automatically make him a citizen of the FRY. Dr. Nebojsa Vucinic of the International Law Department at the University of Podgorica (Montenegro) told "Vreme" that "if the new Yugoslavia advocates itself as the successor state then it is logical to provide the succession of citizenship".

In the meantime, the old Citizenship Act dating from 1977 is still valid; it says that every citizen has two citizenships - the republican and federal. The second one, as civil law expert Dr. Vojislav Vukcevic explained, was used by the citizens of the former Yugoslav when abroad. They had their republican citizenships for "domestic use", and problems to accompany it.

Some time ago a Law on Special Conditions for Real Estate Transactions was passed forbidding the sale of the privately owned Serbian houses and land to Kosovo Albanians, even though both were citizens of Yugoslavia. In the meantime a decree was passed whereby immovable property in the present Yugoslavia cannot be sold or leased to the citizens of the former Yugoslav republics.

Since citizenship does not have to coincide with nationality, such legislative measures have also afflicted Serbs who live in the former Yugoslav republics. Their disappointment will be quite understandable when they realize that they cannot exercise owners' rights on their immovables in their "homeland". It is also not know how the said decree will be implemented regarding the purchase of apartments of "foreign nationals" as the officials say "a decision has still not been reached". This right is unofficially recognized if they have been residents of Serbia for more then twenty years.

Connected as it is to citizenship, private property - against international regulations - has not remained untouchable in Croatia. The government in Zagreb recently announced that "at the next parliamentary session" it will pass a Law on the Requisition of Immovable Property owned by the citizens of the F.R.Y. on the territory of the Republic of Croatia. This Law will be passed according to the already valid "Provision of June 3, 1992". This order cites "UN Security Council Resolution on Economical and Political Sanctions" whereby the right to dispose of the real estate of the citizens of "an enemy state" has been frozen. Such legislative measures regarding citizenship have made many of yesterday's "locals" into "foreigners" and their position at almost every level is greatly aggravated. A person can now loose the effort of a lifetime overnight. The present hurry to get Croatian citizenship is quite understandable, especially for the "non-Croats". Who gains by the Law on Citizenship?

Article 3 of the said Law lists the conditions for being granted citizenship: "by origin, by birth on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, by naturalization, or by international agreements". One obtains Croatian citizenship "by origin" if a "both or one parent is a Croatian citizen". The conditions for the Croatian citizenship by naturalization are: the foreign national who has submitted a request must be over 18 years of age, he must renounce his previous citizenship, he must have been a permanent resident of Croatia without interruption for a period of at least 5 years, he must know the Croatian language and script, and "it must be evident from his acts and behavior that he respects the legal order in Croatia". Similar regulations that give bureaucracy a free hand were also passed in Slovenia. In effect, Mr. Vuckovic says, commenting on these new citizenship laws, it is the discretion of the state policy whether it will "grant or deny" citizenship. And that, of course, is conditioned by the present political situation and the regime's interests.