Establishing the Judiciary base South

Open Society Foundation has innitiated, in cooperation with the Human Rights Council from Niš, the project “Building the capacity for the rule of law – south of Serbia, aiming at creating a Judiciary base South so that the topic on judiciary reform could reach out beyond Belgrade. 

Mihajlo Čolak, the Foundation’s program coordinator and a member of the Program Council project, states that most of the processes addressed in the Action Plan in Chapter 23 – Judiciary takes place in Belgrade, so that one gets the impression that the activities of the state authorities, as well as the activities of the civil society and expert communities happen only in Serbia’s capital.  

-There is not a really relevant initiative that concerns, that is, addresses judiciary reform which has originated and developed outside of Belgrade. On the other hand, the south of Serbia offers multiple challenges: The Bar of Niš is the third biggest chamber of lawyers in Serbia. Niš is a university town with a Faculty of Law. Some of the most eminent and most interesting independent local media are situated at the south of Serbia precisely.

The phenomenon of mass lawsuits originated in Niš. One out of four courts of appeal is located in Niš. Even before Belgrade, the citizens’ protests (members of the resident’s assemblies) targeting the arrogance of public companies and authorities had begun in Niš.

So, Niš and the surrounding cities are recognized as contradictory surrounding: on one hand lethargy and absence of initiative, and, on the other hand a considerable human potential – in terms of expertise as well as activist capacity and enthusiasm, says Čolak.

These are all the reasons, he added, why the South of Serbia has been chosen for the realization of the project, whose main objective is advancing the existing and the building of new capacities in this part of the country for monitoring and engagement in the area of the rule of law with a particular focus on judiciary reform.

- The first sub-goal of the project is encouraging and building of capacities in the south of Serbia so that, starting from 2021, they can act on their own initiatives and have a relevant influence on the processes of strengthening of independence and responsibility, as well as improving the efficiency and quality of the judiciary, locally, as well as at a the national level. The second sub-goal is to connect all the engagements and the results obtained within the judiciary reform with the processes and initiatives which can improve the overall rule of law, as explained by the coordinator of the Open Society Foundation. 

In order to contribute to the strengthening of independence and responsibility, as well as the quality of the judiciary, training for 16 participants – future new leaders dealing with the judiciary reform has been organized within the framework of the project.

We have chosen young people – lawyers, journalists and NGO activists. The lawyers are primarily court, prosecution and lawyer trainees and students of the final year of Law Faculty from Niš, Vranje, Leskovac and Pirot. By the middle of May, we will realize 16 lectures which will focus on the topics of European integration, among others: Chapter 23 – judiciary reform; The strategy of judiciary development – for the 2019-2024 period; changes in the Constitution and judiciary laws; The guarantees of (in)dependence of the judiciary in writing and in practice; Access to justice (free legal aid, the length of the legal process and other); Judiciary, prosecution, law practice; the phenomenon of the GONGO organization and other.

We are going to organize a study visit to Belgrade, during which we will acquaint the participants with the most relevant civil society organizations which deal with the topic of the rule of law, says a member of the Project’s Program Council.

Some of the lecturers, among others, for the future leaders are Dragana Boljević, the president of the Judges’ Association of Serbia, Lidija Komlen Nikolić, the president of the  Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors of Serbia, Katarina Golubović, the director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights and the ‘’Open door of the judiciary’’ project, Omer Hadžiomerović, a judge of the Court of Appeals in Belgrade, Vida Petrović Škero, the president of the Center for Judicial Research (CEPRIS).

 After the lectures, some of the participants will be asked to conduct research in the south of Serbia, which do not concern only the south of Serbia, but are relevant on the national level, together with the top local experts. 

V. Torović 

The necessary political will for the rule of law

Mihajlo Čolak believes that creating political will is necessary for the rule of law in Serbia first of all.
Unfortunately, the rule of law in Serbia has never been on a level which would deserve a passing grade. Historically speaking, it has been more often faked than truly present and established. Actually, if a true rule of law had been established, it would not have been so easily undermined. Without the rule of law and a truly independent and efficient judiciary, it would be hard to expect a considerable economy growth and the strengthening of the domestic economy, says Čolak.