The role of court experts in the judicial system is very important and the improvement of this field is very important, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Mirko Čikiriz said today at the opening of the conference “The role of experts in the judicial system of the Republic of Serbia”.
Čikiriz pointed out that the National Judicial Reform Strategy for the period 2013-2018 seeks to improve independence of judicial systems, as well as the competence, accountability and efficiency of the judiciary. He pointed out that the Strategy recognises the importance and role which court experts and interpreters, as well as translators have in the judicial system of Serbia and in restoring the confidence of citizens in the system.
“The Strategy envisages strategic guidelines - the improvement of the process of appointment of court experts and permanent court interpreters and translators to improve their competence, and strengthening the visible mechanism of court expert accountability”, Čikiriz said, adding that the strategic framework also includes drafting of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Court Experts.
The State Secretary thanked the World Bank and the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Judiciary Sector Support in Serbia on the professional processing of the issue of court experts and experts in court proceedings in the “Expert report: the role of court experts in Serbia and possible reforms aimed at improving the efficiency and quality of justice”.
World Bank Country Manager for Serbia Stephen Ndegwa pointed out that the improvement of the performance and work of court experts is an important part of the judicial reform and that this is a significant issue for the trust of citizens and investors in the Serbian judicial system.
“This is very important for the World Bank. Therefore, we support the Government in the steps that will be taken in that direction. We also want to acknowledge and thank the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary as a whole on the partnership that we had on many important issues in the field of justice in previous years”, Ndegwa said.
British Ambassador to Serbia Denis Keefe emphasised that Great Britain is supporting the judicial reform in Serbia in key segments and that more than EUR 12 million have been donated to projects in Serbia. Good part of these funds is aimed at the strengthening of the rule of law.
Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia Henk van den Dool said that such meetings, while the judicial reform is in progress, are an opportunity to remind everyone that the best indicator of the quality of each judicial system is the accuracy of decisions, which depends on the reliability of the opinion of court experts.
The ambassador of that country added that the Netherlands supports Serbia in its efforts to reach European standards in the context of European integration.
The conference, organised by the Ministry of Justice, the World Bank and the Multi Donor Fund to Justice Sector Support, presented an analysis and report of the World Bank on the role of experts in the judicial system of Serbia.