Judges’ Association: Prosecution Shouldn’t Have Role in Politicization of Society

Prosecutor’s Office Belgrade (BETAPHOTO/EMIL VAS)

The president of the Association of Serbia’s Judges and Prosecutors, Nenad Stefanovic, has said that prosecution should not have a role in politicization of society and backed the stand of Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac that the Prosecutor’s Office should act based on evidence, not rumors.  

“The Associations admits that there is a trend of negative campaign against the prosecution, that is, that the work of the Prosecutor’s Office is criticized and disputed while ongoing, which is premature and inappropriate, considering that the Prosecutor’s Office acts transparently and undisputedly honors the work transparency standard,” Stefanovic told the Oct. 6 issue of Belgrade daily Danas.

On the other hand, Savo Manojlovic, the president of the Association for the Protection of Constitutionality and Legality, has told the daily that Dolovac should not be afraid of public criticism if she “discharges her post honorably and fairly.”

The chairman of Association of Prosecutors of Serbia Managing Board, Radovan Lazic, has said that the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not have firm guarantees of its independence, although it is proclaimed under the Constitution.

Recently asked whether she had been exposed to political pressure, Dolovac replied affirmatively, saying that it had been clearly demonstrated through “actions of certain politicians” and reporting by “certain media outlets, particularly in relation to the events which are of interest to those politicians, because of their goals.” “But, be assured that such pressure have no influence on my work,” Dolovac stressed.