State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice Radomir Ilić and Mayor of Novi Sad Miloš Vučević visited the reconstructed premises of special Anti-Corruption Departments at the High Court and the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad.
Mr Ilić stated that the Organisation and Competences of Government Authorities in Fighting Organised Crime, Terrorism and Corruption Act, in force since 1 March 2018, had established Anti-Corruption Departments at High Courts and High Public Prosecutor's Offices in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kraljevo and Niš. He said that more than 900 final judgements had since been issued for crimes of corruption, which was the best result Serbia had had so far. ‘The processes were slow, inefficient, but now it is different, with only a few weeks between the arrest and conviction, and this is what the justice should be like,’ Ilić said, adding that all conditions for fighting corruption were provided to judges and prosecutors for effective acting.
Mr Ilić also noted that the Ministry of Justice is continuously working to improve the infrastructure conditions for judges and prosecutors and that from 2012 to 2019, it built and reconstructed more than 200,000 square meters of buildings, costing 12 billion dinars.
Mayor Vučević said that by creating conditions for better and quality functioning of Anti-Corruption Departments, the state showed determination to fight corruption on a daily, systematic, legally and constitutionally defined basis. He also hoped the construction of the Palace of Justice in Novi Sad would begin soon, providing the best conditions for the functioning of the judiciary in that city.
The renovated premises of the Anti-Corruption Departments in Novi Sad were visited by the CEO of Srbijagas, Dušan Bajatović. He explained that because the building was owned by the company − a section of which was being used by the Anti-Corruption Departments − the company had invested in the reconstruction as well.
President of the Special Department for Combating Corruption at the High Court in Novi Sad, Borivoje Pap, and the head of the Special Department for Combating Corruption at the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, Vidak Daković, concurred that better conditions would contribute to a more efficient work and better results. Mr Pap said that from 1 March 2018 until the end of January 2020, the department had resolved 325 cases, 276 of which had resulted in convictions. Mr Daković added that ever since the application of the new Act, that Department initiated 410 investigations and investigatory actions against 700 persons, 280 of whom had been indicted.