Today, Minister of Justice NelaKuburović and representatives of the Austrian company Strabagsigned a contract for the construction of the new justice building in Kragujevac. The new building, which will span over 23,000 m2, will house 11 judicial organs and over 800 staff. As Minister Kuburović pointed out after the contract signing, all 25 million Euros for the construction of the new Kragujevac Palace of Justice have been allocated from the Budget of the Republic of Serbia.
Kuburović said that foundations would be laid at the beginning of September and that she believed Strabag– the best bidder in the Justice Ministry’s tender – would comply with the terms and conditions of the contract. She said she expected the new building to be opened in little over three years. “The new facility will provide easier access to justice to citizens because the case processing will be faster and the communication between the judicial organs would be streamlined– all of which will shorten the duration of the actual proceedings”, the Justice Minister explained.
Kuburović said that, prior to signing the contract, she had an opportunity to visit the existing facility in Kragujevac which, in addition to housing the Appellate Court, the Basic Court and the High Court, had the courtrooms in the basement and provided inadequate working conditions for the judges. She added that the construction of the new facility – which would be the justice sector’s largest infrastructural project in Serbia of the past several decades – meant that the City of Kragujevac would receive a building worthy of the functions performed by judges and prosecutors.
The Kragujevac Mayor RadomirNikolić, who attended the contract signing ceremony, said that the project proved that the Government had recognised Kragujevac as a regional centre, giving it back its once held importance. He added that, according to the agreement with the Ministry of Justice, the ownership of the existing justice building would transfer to the City of Kragujevac and that, given its historic significance, it would house one of the city’s future museums.
President of the High Court of Cassation and the High Judicial Council Dragomir Milojević said that the signing of the contract was the result of the work and efforts of the Ministry of Justice which had proposed the project to the Government. He noted that the new facility and good working conditions improved the Court’s reputation.
President of the Appellate Court in Kragujevac DubravkaDamjanović said that the day was considered important and had been long-awaited by all members of the judiciary living and working in Kragujevac. She emphasised that the act of signing the contract meant that the judicial organs in Kragujevac would finally have very good working conditions that would allow all the staff to achieve their greatest potential and results – which they aimed to do even in the hard housing conditions.