Today, Justice Minister Nela Kuburović received Deputy Coordinator in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of European and Euroasian Affairs James Merz with whom she discussed cooperation and the assistance which the U.S. had been giving Serbia in strengthening the rule of law and advancing the judicial system.
Ms Kuburović and Mr Merz said that for years the U.S. had been providing the assistance through USAID projects, most notably the Rule of Law Project which was important for facilitating the preparation of the new National Strategy for Advancing the Judiciary 2019−2025 as well as during the drafting of the Amendments to the Enforcement and Security Act which enters into force on 1 January 2020.
Ms Kuburović found that the Amendments introduced significant novelties to Serbia’s justice system, such as the electronic notice board, and that further Project assistance was needed for an efficient implementation of the new statutory measures. She acknowledged the U.S.’ assistance in training judges and prosecutors how to apply measures for combating corruption, noting that the same assistance had been given four years earlier when the Whistleblower Protection Act was being adopted. She added that USAID projects were specific to the purpose, that they gave good results and that Serbia was very grateful for their assistance. As an example, she recalled one of the first large USAID projects in Serbia which had focused on misdemeanour courts’ infrastructure development and resulted in newly constructed court buildings for the first time in several decades.
Mr Merz assured that the U.S. would continue to assist with the promotion of the rule of law and the strengthening of judicial independence, including the cooperation with the civil sector, as well as to support Serbia on its journey to EU-accession.