Prosecutor: Constitutional Change a Step to Depoliticize Prosecution Service

Predrag Milovanovic (Photo: Print Screen You Tube)

One of the elected members of the State Prosecutorial Council, Predrag Milovanovic, said on Jan. 12 that the amendments to the Serbian constitution submitted by the Government of Serbia might not be ideal for the prosecution service, but that they were possible to implement, better than the existing ones and “a step toward its depoliticization.”

“I have been advocating that ruling elites in the future should make a step further to strengthen the independence of prosecution service and constitute it as an independent authority, which is a prevailing trend in Europe. It has been noted that an independent prosecution service is a pathway to a fair trial,” Milovanovic said for BETA, with a remark that time will tell who’s right, advocates or opponents of the constitutional change.

As he put it, the ideas he shared publicly in this context “have arisen from deliberations by senior representatives of the Association of Prosecutors of Serbia, which for two decades have been advocating a thorough reform in the service.” The Association, whose member Milovanovic is, had joined a working group in charge of drafting the constitutional amendments.

In a comment on the objection that it was a “one-party constitutional change,” given that the Parliament largely consists of the ruling coalition’s MPs, Milovanovic admitted that it was “a well-grounded objection,” but explained that “any constitutional law theorist will tell you that an ideal socio-political moment doesn’t exist in any state.”