BELGRADE, April 24 (Reuters) – Serbia’s contested reform of its judiciary, needed for the country’s EU accession bid, has major flaws that must be fixed, a panel of international legal experts said on Friday.
Reforms of Serbia’s judiciary have triggered sharp criticism from judges and prosecutors who say they boost the rule of populist President Aleksandar Vucic, while undermining the rule of law and the fight against corruption and organised crime.
After warnings from the European Union that it may freeze 1.5 billion euros in grants and loans due to the slow progress of needed reforms, Belgrade sought an opinion from the Venice Commission, a panel of international law experts at the Council of Europe, a human rights body.
In a non-binding opinion on Friday, the commission said the changes in the judiciary and the prosecution system had lacked a “meaningful public debate… consultation with national stakeholders, and a thorough impact assessment”.
The commission also said it had identified “concerning shortcomings” in the disputed laws.
“Viewed both individually and cumulatively, (shortcomings) remove previously existing safeguards designed to protect prosecutorial autonomy,” it said.
The Serbian judicial reforms include limiting the mandate of chief public prosecutors and granting court presidents – responsible for court administration – greater powers over judges.
The commission recommended nine steps that Serbian authorities must take to improve the laws, including the reinstatement of temporarily assigned prosecutors whose appointments have been prematurely terminated and also making the fixed terms of court presidents mostly non-renewable.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Earlier this year, Vucic said Serbia would adapt the judiciary reforms to conform with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
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(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Gareth Jones)