Part I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter X
RENDERING AND PRONOUNCING DECISIONS

Service trough official personnel or trough other instances
Article 190
(1) Documents shall be served trough an official person of the authority that brought the decision, i.e. that is in charge of the service, or directly trough that authority, and may also be served by mail, by other legal entity registered for process of service, local government authority or by letter rogatory of another government authority.
(2) Summons for trial the Court may be served orally to a person who is in court, with the instruction on consequences of failure to appear. Such summons shall be noted in the record that shall be signed by the person served, unless such service has been noted in the trial records. It shall be considered that by such an act summons was duly served.
Service in person
Article 191
When the present Code prescribes that the document shall be served in person, it shall be served directly to the person to be served. If the person to be served in person cannot be reached at the place where the service should be effected, the process server shall inform himself when and where the person can be found and leave the written notice directing the recipient of the document to be in his apartment or place of work on a specified date and hour for the purpose of being served with the document, with one of the persons referred to in Article 192, paragraph 1 of the present Code. If even after this, the process server cannot reach the person to be served, he shall act according to the provision of Article 192, paragraph 1 of the present Code and it shall be deemed that by such an act the document has been duly served.
Service trough a third party
Article 192
(1) Documents which under the present Code do not have to be served in person shall also be served in person, but if the recipient is not found in his apartment or place of work, these documents can be served on any of the adult members of the recipient’s household who are bound to receive the document. If the said household members are not found in the apartment, the document shall be served on the janitor
or a neighbor if they are willing to receive it. If service is attempted at the recipient’s place of work and he cannot be reached, delivery can be affected to the person authorized to receive mail who is bound to receive the document or to the recipient’s co-employee if he is willing to receive it.
(2) If it is determined that the recipient is absent and that the persons referred to paragraph 1 of the present Article are unable to deliver the document to him in due time, the document shall be returned with a notice regarding the absentee’s whereabouts.
Summoning and serving the defendant
Article 193
(1) The summons for the first interrogation in the preliminary proceedings and the summons for the trial shall be served on the defendant in person.
(2) An indictment, motion to indict or private charge, a judgment and other decisions for which the term for appeal begins to run when service is made, as well as an appeal by the adverse party which is served for reply, shall be served in person to the defendant who does not have a defense counsel. If the defendant requests that the summons and documents referred to in paragraph 1 are to be served on a person that he designates, the service shall be effected on this person and it shall be that such act constitutes service of the summons and the documents on the defendant.
(3) If the defendant who does not have a defense counsel should be served with a judgment imposing a sentence of imprisonment and this judgment cannot be served at his present address, the court shall ex officio assign a defense counsel to the defendant who shall perform this duty until the new address of the defendant is determined. The court shall grant to the appointed counsel a necessary term to familiarize himself with the files, after which the judgment shall be served on the appointed counsel and the proceedings resumed. If other decision, for which the term for appeal begins to run when service is made, or an appeal of adverse party which is served for reply, cannot be served on the defendant because the process server cannot inform himself on the new address of the defendant, the court shall post the decision or the appeal on the Court’s public board and after the lapse of eight days from the day of posting it shall be deemed that it was duly served.
(4) If the defendant has a defense counsel, an indictment, motion to indict, private charge and all other decisions for which the term for appeal or objection begins to run when service is made as well as an appeal by the adverse party which is served for replay shall be served both to the defense counsel and to the defendant according to the provisions referred to in Article 192 of the present Code. In such a case, the term begins to run from the day the document is served on the defendant or the defense counsel. If a decision or an appeal cannot be served on the defendant

because he did not report a change of address, or on defense counsel who did not comply with his duty pursuant to Article 67, paragraphs 4 and 5 of the present Code, this document shall be posted on the Court’s public board, as well as on the website of the Court when possible, and after the lapse of eight days from the day of posting it shall be deemed that it was duly served.
(5) If a document has to be served on a defense counsel, and the defendant has retained several defense counsels, it suffices to effect service on one of them.
Service of private prosecutor and injured person as subsidiary prosecutor
Article 194
(1) A summons for a submitting the private charge or an indictment, as well as the summons for the trial shall be served on a private prosecutor and subsidiary prosecutor or to their legal representative in person (Article 191), and to their proxies according to the Article 192 of the present Code. The decisions for which the term for appeal begins to run when service is made and the appeal by the adverse party which is served for reply shall be served in the same manner.
(2) If the service cannot be effected to the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article or the injured person at their present address, the Court shall post the summons, decision or appeal on the court’s public board and after the lapse of eight days from the day of posting it shall be deemed that it was duly served.
(3) Court shall, in the case pursuant to section 2 of this Article, present the summon, that is, decision or appeal, when necessary technical condition allow it, on the web site of the Court.
(4) If the injured person, subsidiary prosecutor or private prosecutor is represented by a legal representative or proxy, service shall be made on the later, and in the case where there are several, the only one of them shall be served.
Proof of service
Article 195
(1) The documents shall be served in the sealed envelope.
(2) Proof of service (service receipt) shall be signed both by the recipient and the process server. The recipient shall himself make a note on the service receipt indicating the day of the service.

(3) If the recipient is illiterate or otherwise unable to sign the service receipt, the process server shall sign the recipient’s name, indicate the day of receipt and note the reasons why he signed in place of the recipient.
(4) If the recipient refuses to sign the service receipt, the process server shall make a note thereof on the service receipt indicating the day of service and by this it shall be deemed that the service was duly made.
Refusal to be served
Article 196
When the recipient or an adult member of his household refuses to receive the served document, the process server shall note on the service receipt the day, hour and reason for the refusal and he shall leave the document in the recipient’s apartment or at his place of work, and by this it shall be deemed that the service was duly made.
Serving persons under certain command, persons with immunity and nationals
living abroad
Article 197
(1) Services of summons upon military personnel, penitentiary guards of the institutions where persons deprived of liberty are being placed and employees of ground, water and air traffic companies, shall be affected through their command, i.e. immediate supervisor and if necessary other documents may also be served on them in such a manner.
(2) Service upon persons deprived of liberty shall be made through the court or through the administration of the institution where they are placed.
(3) Service on persons enjoying immunity in Serbia and Montenegro shall be made through the ministry in charge of foreign affairs, except as otherwise provided by international treaties.
(4) Documents to nationals of Serbia and Montenegro who live abroad, if the proceeding prescribed by provisions of Article 509 and 510 of the present Code is not applicable, shall be served through the diplomatic or consular mission of Serbia and Montenegro in the foreign state, subject to the condition that the foreign state does not object to such a manner of service and with the consent of the recipient of the document. The authorized person of the diplomatic or consular mission shall sign the service receipt as the process server in the service was made in the mission, and in case the service was made by mail he shall confirm this on the service receipt.
Service of the Public Prosecutor
Article 198
(1) Service of decisions and other documents upon the Public Prosecutor is affected by delivery to the clerk's office of the Public Prosecutor.
(2) When delivering decisions for which the term begins to run when service is made, the day of the delivery of the document to the clerk’s office of the Public Prosecutor shall be deemed as the day when the service is made.
(3) Upon his request, the court shall deliver the criminal case to the Public Prosecutor for examination. If a term for filing a legal remedy is pending, or if other interests of the proceedings request so, the court may order a term in which the Public Prosecutor should return the case.
Application of rules of the civil proceeding
Article 199
In cases not prescribed by the present Code the service shall be made pursuant to the provisions of civil proceeding.
Summoning of participants in the proceeding and service trough other persons
or certain technical manners
Article 200
(1) Summons and decisions which are issued up until the conclusion of the trial for persons participating in the proceedings, except for the defendant, may be handed over to the procedural participant who consents to deliver them to the person to whom they are addressed, if the authority conducting the proceedings holds that in this way their service is guaranteed.
(2) The persons referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article may be informed about a summons for a trial or another summons as well as on a decision on the postponement of a trial or other scheduled actions by cable, telephone, electronic mail or another electronic transmitter, giving that it is possible to obtain feedback information that the person has received a summon or information, or if under the circumstances it can be assumed that the person to whom the information is addressed will in such a manner receive it.
(3) An official note in the file shall be made about the summons and service of a decision effected in the manner prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present Article.

(4) Detrimental consequences prescribed for omission may take effect against the person who was informed according to paragraphs 1 or 2 of the present Article, or to whom the decision was addressed only if it is determined that he received in due time the summons or decision and that he was instructed of the consequences of omission.
Insight into tapes, transcripts or copies of tapes by third parties with justified
interest
Article 201
(1) Anyone having a justified interest may be permitted to examine, transcribe, and copy particular criminal files, except the ones labeled as “official secrecy – top secret”.
(2) When proceedings are pending, actions referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article shall be permitted by the authority conducting the proceedings, and by the President of the Court or an official designated by him when proceedings are terminated. If the files are kept by the Public Prosecutor, the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article shall be permitted by him.
(3) If the public is excluded from the trial or if the right to privacy would be violated by permitting the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article, these actions may be denied or conditioned by a prohibition of making public the names of parties participating in the proceedings. Against a ruling on denying the actions an appeal may be filed which shall not stay the execution of the ruling.
(4) The provisions of Article 59, i.e. Article 74 of the present Code shall be applicable for actions referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article if affected by a private prosecutor, subsidiary prosecutor, injured person and defense counsel.
(5) The defendant already interrogated, i.e. suspect, if interrogated according to the provisions on interrogation of the defendant, has the right to examine the files and observe the objects which serve as evidence in the presence of the official person in the clerk’s office of the public prosecutor or the court who shall make a note thereof, as well as make the copies of the files, i.e. photograph the files or objects, except from the records from Article 147, paragraph 2 of the Code.

I BASIC PROVISIONS

The Meaning of Terms Used in the Law

Article 2

“Document on Charges“ shall be a request for investigation, a motion to refrain from commencing an investigation, and an indictment.