CYRILLIC IN THE CONSTITUTION OF SERBIA: A REVIEW OF MAJOR SOURCES (1974–2014)

Text topic: Studies

Text author: Синиша Стефановић

In spite of introducing Cyrillic as an official script in the Serbian language, its use shows a declining tendency. A review of relevant legal and language sources show that the question of the status of Cyrillic is one of the manifestations of ideological struggle of two opposed groups: the Euro-regional one whose standpoint arises from the language policy from 1972, the 1974 Constitution and the Opinion given by the Venice Committee, and the other one of a nationalistic/centralistic tone grounded in the comparative law of the EU member states. The balance of power in this struggle is also reflected in the decision of the Constitutional Court, which has imposed its authority in the matters of the Cyrillic script, as paramount language use authority.