‘The new Judicial Reform Strategy for 2019–2024 period is a continuation of the previous 5-year strategy and it represents continual efforts to improving the judicial efficiency’, Justice Minister Nela Kuburović said at the round table in Belgrade where the working draft of the new 5-year Judicial Reform Strategy was presented.
Minister Kuburović said that the working group which had been drafting the new Strategy had comprised of the same members who had had formed the commission responsible for the monitoring the implementation of the National Judicial Reform Strategy for 2013–2018 period. She stressed that all the members had agreed on the draft text, and added that the entire drafting process had been transparent and inclusive.
Discussing the most important areas of the new strategy, Minister Kuburović mentioned the constitutional reform and the amendments to a set of statutes which needed to be consolidated with the amendments to the Constitution. She noted that the new strategy focused on unburdening the Belgrade courts and on measures required to that end.
The Justice Minister reflected on the previous two Judicial Reform Strategies from 2006 and 2013, respectively, saying that the first one for 2006–2011 period had established a new normative and institutional framework (a set of new judicial statutes was passed, the High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutorial Council were founded as was the Judicial Academy). ‘It was this Strategy which drew the most criticism and resulted in the most irregularities the consequences of which are in a manner felt today. Those were the re-appointment of judges in 2009 – a non-transparent and, as the Constitutional Court later found, an unconstitutional procedure – , and the network of courts which became operational on 1 January 2010 and proved to be inefficient’, the Minister stated, adding that for a number of years, there was no assessment criteria for the performance of judges and prosecutors, and that the courts were without appointed presidents for three years. ‘One must also not forget about the criticism of the international institutions for 2006 reform. The Constitution of 2006 was reviewed by the Venice Commission in a 2007 opinion which reported series of irregularities and violations of European standards on the election of judges and the principle of tenure’, she remarked.
As the Minister explained, it was the second Strategy from 2013 which was supposed to eliminate most of the negative consequences of the previous period, namely bring the judges and the prosecutors relieved of duty in 2009 back to the system, set-up a new network of courts as of 2014 that would resolve the problem of unequal distribution of caseload between courts and the problem of huge backlog.
The Justice Minister said, however, that she was pleased with the results achieved in recent years which had been aimed at strengthening the independence and the professionalism of those holding judicial office and increasing efficiency. She singled-out the introduction of new judicial professions: public notaries, public bailiffs, etc. ‘Additionally, much has been accomplished with the e-Judiciary and the improvements to the infrastructure. The previous 5-year period was marked by the highest infrastructural investment of the past several decades; we now have newly-constructed court buildings in Raška, Požarevac, Pančevo, Užice, the Misdemeanour Court in Belgrade now has its own premises, the reconstruction of the Palace of Justice in Belgrade is nearing completion, and the construction of the new Palace of Justice in Kragujevac from the ground up has commenced’, Minister Kuburović highlighted.
The Justice Minister then explained that the Strategy drafting ran simultaneously with the revision of the Chapter 23 Action Plan. ‘Chapter 23 Action Plan should equally serve as the Judicial Reform Strategy Implementation Action Plan. The idea is to avoid having different ways of reporting and to ensure a more efficient control over the implementation of the activities’, Kuburović noted. She said that the draft of the revised Action Plan had been submitted to the European Commission for opinion following which the Ministry of Justice would open another public debate and start a consultative process involving the government institutions and the civil sector in order to finalise the revision of the Action Plan and to simultaneously adopt the revised Action Plan and the Strategy.
Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Serbia Mr Mike de la Rosa stated that USAID had been supporting Serbia’s reforms extensively for 18 years, especially the advancement of the judiciary and the training of judges. He said he had witnessed great progress but also many challenges on the way.
De la Rosa emphasised that USAID always had a consensus with its partners – the main interested parties and beneficiaries –, and this is reflected in the fact that economic and social progress cannot be achieved without a decisive respect for the rule of law and the effective protection of everyone’s rights, i.e. both require a functional judiciary and a resolution of disputes in a predictable manner and within a reasonable timeline.
Acting President of the Supreme Court of Cassation Mr Dragomir Milojević stated that the activities and the measures under strategic documents which have been implemented for years were always done so with the objective of facilitating an independent, expert and efficient judicial system of accountability.
Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac said that further development of the judiciary required an all-encompassing approach, adding that the Judicial Reform Strategy for 2013–2018 period now needed to be continued and improved. ‘The draft Judicial Reform Strategy for 2019–2024 period is a quality plan which I find contains a comprehensive breakdown of the strategy goals which are advancing our country’s judicial system. An independent, impartial, modern and efficient judiciary that is responsible and transparent is the essence of our efforts’, Dolovac noted.
The working draft of the new Judicial Reform Strategy was presented to the round-table participants by Deputy Director of the Judicial Academy Ms Majda Kršikapa and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Advisor to the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation Ms Snežana Andrejević.
The process of consultations on the working draft of the Judicial Reform Strategy for 2019–2024 period is being organised by the Ministry of Justice with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Project.