Serbia Slow In Implementing Law To Return Church Lands

Forum 18 reported yesterday that the implementation of Serbia's 2006 Law on the Restitution of Property to Churches and Religious Communities (background) has been very slow. The Restoration Directorate is short on staff, and religious organizations are having difficulty locating the proper documentation. Even the large Serbian Orthodox Church has had problems. Also, the 2006 law only covers property confiscated by the Communists after 1945, so Jewish community property taken taken during World War II is not covered. The Minister of International Economic Relations says that the Jewish community's property will be included in a new proposed general restitution law that will cover property confiscated for ethnic or religious reasons during the Second World War.