In July, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgment in S.E. v. Serbia. This case concerns the Serbian authorities’ refusal to issue a travel document to the refugee applicant, owing to a failure by the respective Ministers of the Interior to enact, since 2008, any regulations, as subsidiary legislation, governing the form and content of the travel document for refugees, despite being required to do so by the national legislation.
The European Court indicated, under Article 46 of the Convention, that Serbia had to take all appropriate statutory and operational measures to complete the pertinent legislative framework and implement regulations to provide for the effective right to leave the territory, and the possibility for any individual in a similar situation as the applicant to access the procedure to apply for and obtain a travel document.
One month after the Court’s judgment became final, on 17 November 2023, the Minister of the Interior complied with the Court’s findings by adopting the Rules on the form and content of travel documents for refugees, which became applicable on 1 February 2024. The first travel documents for refugees were issued on 27 March 2024.
