On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December), the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia would like to highlight that throughout 2020, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has shown its political will and unequivocal commitment to a strategic approach to fight against corruption which will continue in the following year, inter alia, through the amendments to the Financing of Political Activities Act.
Over the last several years, a set of anti-corruption laws was adopted. These laws form [part of] an exceptional normative mosaic, together with the very important Origin of Property Act which was enacted in March 2020, with a deferred application date — one year following the enforcement date.
The legal anti-corruption framework is at a high level, and the important steps which Serbia has taken to reach that level have been validated by expert bodies of the EU.
More than ever before, Serbia strengthened and completed its repressive mechanism, giving equal importance to preventive action. All these efforts have contributed to Serbia not being listed as a ‘globally unsatisfactory’ country when it comes to fight against corruption and alignment with the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations, in 2019 Interim Compliance Report which had been adopted at a GRECO session in late March 2019.
The most recent Second Compliance Report containing GRECO recommendations, published on 26 November 2020, acknowledges real progress compared to 2019 Interim Compliance Report. The noted progress reflects the two ‘fully implemented’ recommendations, 10 ‘partly implemented’ recommendations, and only one ‘not implemented’ recommendation.
An important fact to remember is that the given GRECO recommendations concern exclusively the Fourth Evaluation Round, i.e. ‘corruption prevention in respect of members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors’. Therefore, those recommendations do not cover all anti-corruption measures which Serbia has taken to fight against corruption, and by extension, to reduce corruption perception and to create a favourable business environment.
The new Corruption Prevention Act, too, was adopted, effectively replacing the former Anti-Corruption Agency Act. The new statute follows the GRECO recommendations, and serves as an umbrella anti-corruption regulation. With its application date of 1 September 2020, this Act is meant to protect public interest, reduce risks of corruption, and strengthen the integrity and increase the accountability of public authorities and public officials.
The system established on the basis of the Organisation and Competencies of Government Authorities in Suppressing Organised Crime, Terrorism and Corruption Act — enacted on 1 March 2018 — has proven that fight against organised crime can indeed be successful. Between 1 March 2018 and 30 June 2020, special anti-corruption units within the High Courts and the High Prosecutor’s Offices in Belgrade, Novi sad, Kraljevo and Niš, respectively, received cases of criminal charges raised against 24,013 persons, among whom were senior officials of local self-governments, directors of public companies, and senior officials at the republic (central) level. The courts of law have pronounced judgements of conviction against 1,295 of those persons. This sends a clear message that nobody is protected, no matter to which political party they belong or the public office they hold. The most illustrative example would be the recent arrest of the former heads of the municipalities of Prijepolje and Arilje, as well as Assistant Minister of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Justice would like to remind the readers of another important anti-corruption law in place — the Lobbying Act which, for the first time, regulates lobbying in Serbia and contributes to the reduction of the ‘grey area’ of illicit influence.