OBAVEZNA VAKCINACIJA DETETA KAO USLOV ZA OSTVARIVANjE PRAVA NA FORMALNO OSNOVNO OBRAZOVANjE

Abstract

This paper examines the legislative framework of the Republic of Serbia, which formally established the obligation to vaccinate children as a condition for attending primary school and appropriate sanctions for parents in case of non-fulfillment of the obligation. Paradoxically, however, the same framework simultaneously permits the enrollment of non-immunized children in primary schools. This legislative arrangement creates a direct inconsistency between the provisions of the 2016 Act on the Protection of Population from Infectious Diseases, which imposes compulsory immunization, and Act on Primary Education and Upbringing, which guarantees a child’s right to education without additional conditions. Moreover, the statutory conditions for the exercise of the right to primary education must also be interpreted in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although compulsory vaccination aligns with the child’s right to life, survival and development, as well as the right to the highest attainable standard of health, conditioning access to primary education on immunization places the obligation in potential tension with the child’s right to education. However, although vaccination is prescribed as compulsory, and its absence is sanctioned, the practice in the Republic of Serbia shows that children, despite not being vaccinated, are still enrolled in primary school, thus avoiding the real possibility of denying the child’s right to education or the deprivation of parental responsibility. The analysis within the work includes international standards, including the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, and it is especially considered how the compulsory immunization of the child fits into the broader concept of the child’s right to health, the right to education and the duties of parents in the field of child care.