Important USAID assistance in the promotion of the rule of law in Serbia

Today, Justice Minister Nela Kuburović met with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director for Serbia Azza Al-Abd to discuss the implementation of new USAID judicial sector projects, including the cooperation and the assistance which the USAID had already given to the Ministry of Justice and other judicial institutions. Kuburović and Al-Abd concurred that the cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the USAID had been at a high level up to that point, as well as that all the previous USAID projects had produced very concrete and positive results which contributed to the promotion of the rule of law and the development of the judicial system in the Republic of Serbia.

Minister Kuburović expressed her gratitude for the long-standing assistance from the USAID and assurance that the recently initiated “The Rule of Law” Project would produce as good results as the previous projects had produced. She explained that the new project covered a wide range of institutions which would benefit from capacity building. She highlighted the support given to the Working Group for the Drafting of the Amendments to the Enforcement and Security Act which was going to be revised to meet the demands of the economy, the courts and the citizens.

“The Rule of Law” Project will encompass considerations of the possibility to introduce electronic sales of real-estate, as well as an electronic system of court filing, which would further advance the e-Court and the digitalisation of the public administration. There was also no shortage of assistance to the Public Defender’s Office or in the drafting of an analysis of the 2013-2018 National Judicial Reform Strategy activities carried out.

Discussing the amendments to the judicial provisions of the Constitution - one of the most important Chapter 23 Action Plan reform activities -, the Minister noted that, in April, the Ministry of Justice had submitted the Draft Amendments to the Constitution to the Venice Commission for an opinion which it officially received the day before. She said that the Ministry would revise the Draft in line with the Commission’s recommendations.

Azza Al-Abd noted that she looked forward to continuing their cooperation, expressing belief that the new projects would give the same results and success as the previous projects had given.