INTERPELACIJA O OBZNANI

Abstract

Obznana (Proclamation) was a quasi decree, passed on December 29, 1920, which banned the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The debate on the interpellation on Obznana was held on April 8, 1921, according to the rules on interpellation contained in Standing Orders of the Constituent Assembly, dated January 28, 1921. The Minister of the Interior, the creator of Obznana, Milorad Draskovic, was the first to speak at the debate. He stated many reasons why Obznana was passed. Then, the Minister answered the interpellant, the leader of the communists Sima Markovic, for 30 minutes, according to the Rules of Procedure. After wards, several other government and opposition MPs spoke, presenting arguments in favor of or against Obznana. The head of the Agricultural Party, Jovan Jovanović, spoke about Obznana from a legal standpoint, stating that Obznana was passed by the Government in resignation, that it was not published, that it did not have the King's signature, that it was passed without legal authorization and without a legal basis in the Criminal Code. Lawyer Dragutin Pećić stated the opposite view, according to which Obznana had a legal basis in the Constitution, in the Criminal Code and in a few of other legal regulations. He proposed a motivated transition to the agenda, which the Prime Minister Nikola Pasic accepted "as an expression of the Assembly's trust to the Government". With the parliamentary acceptance of Pećić's proposal to move to the agenda, the communist interpellation on Obznana was rejected, and the previous work of the Government regarding Obznana was approved. This paved the way for the adoption of the "Law on Protection for the State".