The group of judges and prosecutors stated that they sent a letter to the members of the European Parliament, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Commissioner for the Enlargement of the European Union (EU), the Venice Commission and the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia "due to the existence of serious risks to the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the prosecutor's office in Serbia". They complain about continuous political pressures, public attacks, and attempts to intimidate judicial functionaries, as well as normative and institutional solutions that represent a deviation from constitutional guarantees and European standards.
They pointed out that five judicial laws were included in the parliamentary procedure, according to the proposal of the MP of the Serbian Progressive Party. Mrdića's coal, on an urgent basis and that they were not made available to the public.
In a statement, they warned that "the proposed amendment to the law aims to strengthen the position of certain functions in the judiciary, primarily the positions of court presidents and chief prosecutors, through which the work of the judiciary is controlled, and undermines the independence and integrity of the judiciary and the independence of the prosecution."
"It is planned to establish the Fourth Basic Court in Belgrade and the Fourth Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade for the territorial jurisdiction of the municipality of Novi Belgrade, in the function of the implementation of the 'Expo2027' project, while our Constitution does not allow for the adoption of a kind of 'lex specialis' for the establishment of a court as part of the judicial system, the establishment of which is accompanying and in the function of the realization of a specific commercial project, with already existing courts of general and special jurisdiction, which were established to resolve all disputes, including those resulting from the implementation of such projects," she stated "Defense of the profession" organization.
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Also, the proposed changes, it was emphasized, would expand the competences of the chief public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, introduce the mandatory consent of the ministry responsible for justice for certain acts of the prosecution and further collapse their independence.
"It should be borne in mind that in Serbia, constitutional reforms were implemented in 2022, as part of European integration with the aim of establishing the independence of the judiciary from the executive power and guaranteeing the independence of the prosecutor's office, when the set of judicial laws was also harmonized, precisely those whose amendment is proposed under an urgent procedure," they warned.
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