Judge: It Is in Citizens’ Interest to Vote ‘No’ to Constitutional Changes in Jan. 16 Referendum

Zoran Ivosevic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/DS)

The former Supreme Court judge, Zoran Ivosevic, on Jan. 11 said that the proposed constitutional changes relating to the judiciary were an improvement to the current regulations, but explained that the Act on Constitutional changes, adopted in the Serbian parliament, contained the levers of political influence on judicial bodies, particularly on public prosecutor’s offices and therefore it would be in citizens’ interest to vote against the proposed constitutional changes in the referendum scheduled for Jan. 16.

Ivosevic told Belgrade daily Nova that the citizens had not been provided with an opportunity to “get conversant with all the provisions so that they could vote in the referendum based on their own opinion and not follow the others.”

Asked who had been most often in violation of the Constitution in Serbia, Ivosevic replied that it was the Serbian president and the Serbian Progressive Party leader, Aleksandar Vucic.

“Instead of taking care of Serbia’s unity and its constitution, he has been appropriating separation of powers defined in the Constitution and has been announcing adoptions, revisions or terminations of laws, although it is the job of the Serbian Parliament. He has also been defining and conducting Serbia’s internal and foreign policies, although it is the job of the government, and has been announcing who has and who has not committed acts punishable by law, although it is the job of courts, and has also been examining evidence instead of prosecutor’s offices and courts,” Ivosevic specified.