Farm tastings and events in Republika Srpska: when to notify the police

This article explains what the Republika Srpska Law on Public Gatherings (Zakon o javnom okupljanju) asks of a host who organises a tasting, an open day or a small event on a farm, at a guesthouse or in a restaurant, and what the Law on Public Order and Peace (Zakon o javnom redu i miru) says about noise and music. Catering permits and municipal decisions on opening hours are not covered because we could not confirm them in an official source, so check them with your municipality.

In short

• The law separates a public event (javna priredba: a gathering held to earn income within a registered activity, which because of the number of participants or its character needs special security measures) from other public gatherings (state, religious, humanitarian, cultural, sports and other purposes, not aimed at income).
• A public event must be reported at least 7 days before it starts.
• Other public gatherings are not reported, unless their character or expected attendance requires extraordinary security measures beyond the normal work of the police. Then the deadline is 5 days.
• Not reporting an event that must be reported is a misdemeanour: a fine of 3,000 to 9,000 KM for a legal entity, 500 to 1,500 KM for the responsible person and for an individual.
• Disturbing people with noise in a public place (music and sound devices between 16.00 and 18.00 and between 22.00 and 06.00) is fined under the Law on Public Order and Peace: legal entity 3,000 to 9,000 KM, a caterer as entrepreneur and the responsible person 500 to 1,300 KM, an individual 400 to 1,200 KM.

Who it applies to

The organiser, an individual or a company. A public event may be held in a closed or an open space (art. 23, para. 2). What matters is that it is open to an undetermined number of people and held for income. The law is about gatherings in a place suitable for a public gathering, meaning a public place accessible to people whose number and identity are not set in advance. A gathering of pre-announced guests on your own property probably falls outside that definition, but this is our reading of the text. If you hold an event open to the public with tickets or payment and expect many people, ask the police station.

What to do

1. Decide whether the event is open to an undefined number of people and whether it is paid.
2. If it is a public event, file the report 7 days before with the competent unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska (the police station for the area where it takes place).
3. State in the report: the purpose, place and time; the name and seat of the organiser and the responsible person; the event manager and a list of stewards; the order and peace measures; and an estimate of attendance.
4. If the event extends onto a road, attach the approval of the competent authority under road safety rules.
5. The police assess the conditions and may order additional security measures with a deadline of no less than 24 hours. A ban decision must be issued at least 24 hours before the start.
6. If the police ban the event, inform the public at once (and guests who bought tickets). The decision can be appealed, but the appeal does not suspend it, and the minister must decide within 24 hours.
7. Ensure order, enough stewards, medical protection and fire protection. The organiser is liable for damage participants cause to the venue.
8. Do not play music or use sound devices so that they disturb people between 16.00 and 18.00 and between 22.00 and 06.00. Check municipal decisions on opening hours and music with your municipality.

Deadlines and amounts

• Public event: report at least 7 days before.
• Other public gathering requiring extraordinary security: report at least 5 days before.
• Fines for holding a gathering without a required report: 3,000 to 9,000 KM (legal entity), 500 to 1,500 KM (responsible person and individual).
• Fines for noise in the prohibited hours: 3,000 to 9,000 KM (legal entity), 500 to 1,300 KM (responsible person and caterer as entrepreneur), 400 to 1,200 KM (individual).
• Music that disturbs public order and peace outside these cases: 100 to 300 KM (art. 7 of the Law on Public Order and Peace).

Where to go

Police stations in East Herzegovina (details from the PU Trebinje page):

• PS Trebinje, Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića 20, tel. 059/279-196
• PS Bileća, Kralja Aleksandra 58, tel. 059/372-555
• PS Gacko, Nemanjina 7, tel. 059/472-373
• PS Ljubinje, Žitomislićki put 2, tel. 059/630-410
• PS Nevesinje, Nemanjića bb, tel. 059/601-122
• PS Berkovići, Žrtva fašističkog terora bb, tel. 059/860-024

For catering conditions and opening hours, ask your municipality's economic department or communal police.

Laws and sources

• Zakon o javnom okupljanju (Official Gazette RS no. 118/08), arts. 2, 3, 15, 23, 25-32
• Zakon o javnom redu i miru (Official Gazette RS no. 11/15 and 58/19), arts. 7 and 15
• Amendments to the Law on Public Order and Peace (Official Gazette RS no. 58/19)

The MUP RS list of regulations shows no amending act for the Law on Public Gatherings, but we could not check this in the official gazette registers. Confirm with the police station before the event that this is still the version in force.