A session is underway in the High Prosecutor's Council, where a decision should be made on the referral of prosecutors to Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office.
President High Prosecutorial Council (VST) Branko Stamenković stated that, if no decisions are made at today's session of the VST on the referral of prosecutors, from Monday, March 9 at midnight, by force of law, they will no longer work in the prosecutor's offices where they are currently assigned.
These are the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, the Public Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Smederevo, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, the Second Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade and the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.
If the referral of the prosecutors is not approved, they will be returned to the prosecutor's offices where they were officially elected on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., when working hours begin, Stamenković said.
What's happening right now?
The High Prosecution Council made a positive decision on the temporary assignment of seven out of eleven public prosecutors to the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, while two more remained to be decided after the break.
There were not enough votes for the prosecutors Aleksandar Isailović, Aleksandar Barco, Irena Bjeloš and Dragoljub Miladinović to be sent back to TOK, on the other hand, prosecutors Milenko Mandić, Goran Jović, Saša Drecun, Predrag Ćetković, Nataša Trninić, Mirjana Jovanović and Vesna Đorđević will continue their work in TOK.
Prosecutor Irena Bjeloš was not referred again, because seven members of the Council voted for her, and four abstained, namely those who are important to the current of power within the Prosecutorial Council - Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, prominent jurist Vladimir Simić, as well as prosecutors Predrag Milovanović and Boris Pavlović.
Prosecutor Aleksandar Isailović was also not sent again, due to two votes against the Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, prominent jurist Vladimir Simić. Prosecutors Predrag Milovanović and Boris Pavlović abstained again.
Also, the prosecutor Aleksandar Barac will return to the Appellate Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad from next week, since the VST did not find a majority to send him back to the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime. Aleksandar Barac is one of the prosecutors who is acting in the "Canopy" case, in which former construction ministers Goran Vesić and Tomislav Momirović are among the suspects.
The session of the Supreme Court of Justice started at 10:00 a.m. today, and the High Council of the Prosecution today finally jumped over an obstacle that it failed to do the previous two times, which is the adoption of the agenda.
Eurojust Agenda
Stamenković suggested that the agenda of today's session of the Court of Justice be supplemented by a decision on the appointment of Gordana Janjićijević as a liaison prosecutor in the Eurodžast office.
Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, who is a member of the Supreme Judicial Council by function, argued for a "logical rearrangement" of the agenda consisting of 14 points on the referral of prosecutors, stating that it is still crucial to make decisions and that this is indisputable.
When it comes to Eurodjast, Vujić assessed that a public invitation should be issued and other candidates should be given a chance, so that it should be the topic of a special session of the VST, and not part of today's agenda.
Miroslav Đorđević, a member of the VST, pointed out that "one should not take care of decorating the interior while the house is on fire."
If the prosecutors are not sent again, practically half of the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime will remain vacant, Đorđević warned. VST member Predrag Milovanović also agreed that "the house is on fire".
The High Prosecution Council needed more than three hours to adopt the proposed agenda after the beginning of the session.
