Serbia’s High Judicial Council (HJC) called for the withdrawal of bills on the judiciary proposing the establishment of new courts and changes to judges’ term rules, Serbian national television RTS reported on Thursday. The draft laws were submitted under an urgent procedure by ruling Serbian Progressive Party MP Ugljesa Mrdic to the plenary of the Serbian Parliament, which is holding an extraordinary sitting for a second consecutive day.
The HJC said that the procedure for submitting the proposed amendments to the Law on Seats And Territorial Jurisdiction of Courts and Public Prosecutor’s Offices in Serbia and to the Law on Judges had not been followed, which is in breach of the Law on the High Judicial Council.
According to the HJC, the adoption of the legislative changes would have serious consequences for Serbia’s legal system and for citizens’ legal certainty. “The establishment of new courts is being proposed, while existing courts do not have adequate capacity in terms of premises, which affects the working conditions of judges and court staff,” the HJC said.
It was noted that the abolition of existing courts and the creation of new ones constitute legal grounds for terminating the mandates of the presidents of the abolished courts, as well as for transferring judges and staff to newly established courts, decisions which fall within the competence of the HJC.
“The amendments to the Law on Judges propose allowing an additional mandate for court presidents. The Constitution prohibits the re-election of the President of the Supreme Court, but legislative amendments would make this possible for presidents of all lower-instance courts,” the HJC added.
“In view of all of the above, and most notably the lack of public debate and an assessment of the financial effects of the legislative amendments, the High Judicial Council calls for the withdrawal of these draft laws from parliamentary procedure,” the HJC statement concludes.
/RD/