“The pluralism of civil society is needed for different views and opinions – criticism included – to be heard, which is the reason why the Ministry of Justice welcomes the long-standing and continued work of current professional associations as well as the establishment of new ones,”, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Radomir Ilić said at the Assembly of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors of Serbia.
The State Secretary pointed out that each association made a specific, individual contribution to better designing reform processes. “Professional associations, as part of the civil sector, are an integral part of the judicial reform. The Ministry seeks to involve civil society and professional associations, in particular, in drafting important strategic documents and legislation, and to hear everybody’s opinion and any justified criticism”, he explained.
The State Secretary added that he was proud of the National Strategy for Advancing the Judiciary 2019−2024 drafting process because the Working Group included representatives of all judicial bodies and professional associations. Representatives of professional associations had been members of many working groups under the Ministry, which demonstrated Ministry’s efforts to take notice of the non-governmental sector.
The State Secretary observed that the collapse of the judiciary between 2006 and 2012 might not have occurred had professional associations been stronger and more present, as they were today; noting that Serbia and its judiciary had not yet recovered from 2010 judicial reform. He mentioned that, as a result of non-observance of the duty of care, the Ministry of Justice alone in 2012 had owed attorneys, court experts, lay judges, and others almost EUR 44 million − a debt which had since been fully cleared.
The most significant results achieved to date − as singled out by State Secretary Ilić − are the National Judicial Reform Strategy 2013−2019 (almost fully implemented), the establishment of a new network of courts in 2014, the adoption of system-wide legislation, such as 2016 Enforcement and Security Act, the Protection of the Right to a Trial within a Reasonable Time Act, the Free Legal Aid Act, and the introduction of new judicial professions.
Further, judicial infrastructure capacities have been strengthened with nearly all court buildings in Serbia having been renovated or reconstructed. The e-Justice system is up and running, which is a major breakthrough, while a radical reform has been undertaken as regards combating corruption and organised crime.
The State Secretary noted that the Criminal Code amendments would enter into force on 1 December 2019, which introduced, inter alia, a life sentence in response to the most horrific murders and harsher penalties for recidivists, and for an assault against a person in an official capacity. He explained that one of the novelties was also the criminalisation of assault on an attorney.