Today marks the beginning of the application of the Corruption Prevention Act which follows the recommendations of the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption, known as GRECO.
The Corruption Prevention Act in effect replaces the former Anti-Corruption Agency Act and it serves as an umbrella statute aimed at corruption prevention, strengthening the role, and increasing the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Agency. With this Act as the latest addition to the list of anti-corruption laws previously passed — namely, the Organisation and Competencies of Government Authorities in Suppressing Organised Crime, Terrorism and Corruption Act, the Lobbying Act and the Original of Property Act —, Serbia has significantly improved its normative framework for a more efficient fight against corruption.
The Corruption Prevention Act — which the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia passed on 22 May 2019 — regulates the legal status, the competencies, the organisation, and the operations of the Anti-Corruption Agency, and it introduces numerous novelties in terms of conflict of interest, accumulation of public functions, disclosure of property and income by officials in office, the Agency’s authority, the election and the appointment of its executive organs.
The fundamental objectives of this new Act are as follows: the protection of public interest, corruption risk reduction, and the strengthening of public officials’ and public authorities’ integrity and accountability. The adoption of the Act had been encapsulated in the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2013−2018 and the corresponding Implementation Action Plan, as well as the Action Plan for Chapter 23.