Analysis of the application of "The Missing Babies Act"

The Act on Establishing the facts about the Status of Newborn Children who are suspected to have disappeared from the Maternity Hospitals in the Republic of Serbia, colloquially known as "the Missing Babies Act", was adopted in 2020. The paper presents the analysis of the results of applying this Act in competent Serbian courts. The empirical research included the judicial practice of the high courts in Niš, Kragujevac, Belgrade, and Novi Sad. By using the statistical and the random sample methods, the author analyzes the results applying this Act. "The Missing Babies Act" regulates the procedure for determining the facts regarding the status of the "missing babies" and awarding compensation for nonpecuniary damages. The Act expressly envisaged two goals. The first goal was to finally resolve the problem of unreliable information on the status of babies who are suspected to have disappeared from the maternity ward and to award compensation for non-pecuniary damages to persons whose right to respect for family life was violated. The second goal was to fulfill the obligations stipulated in the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Zorica Jovanović v. Serbia (appl.12794/08). The short six-months deadline to initiate the procedure for determining the facts about the status of the "missing babies", its preclusive nature, and the ruling principle of urgency when conducting these proceedings should have indicated the importance given to resolving the "missing babies" issue. The results of the conducted empirical research on the application of this Act show that the Act did not achieve the envisaged goals.