Attorneys Commence Three-Day Strike

The First Basic Public Prosecution Office (BETAPHOTO/ANA SLOVIC)

On Feb. 23, attorneys across Serbia commenced a three-day strike in protest against the so-called Mrdic Laws, i.e. the recently adopted amendments to six judicial laws proposed by ruling Progressive Party of Serbia MP Ugljesa Mrdic.

Previously, on Feb. 11, the Bar Association of Serbia called on the relevant government bodies to “exercise [their] legal authority” and abolish the changes, threatening to go on nationwide strike from Feb. 23 to 25 should the demand not be met.

Since, as the Association stated, the authorities failed to act, the organization has enacted its threat. According to the Association, the tri-day strike was voted and decided on by the Association’s steering committee, although some of its members are calling the move into question and have said they would not abide by it.

During the strike, attorneys will not appear in court, prosecutor’s offices or before other state bodies nor in the offices of notary publics and public executors, except in urgent cases as defined by the law.
 
The Association also called a fifth extraordinary general assembly of its membership for Feb. 24, when it will discuss a draft memorandum on the effect of the judicial amendments on the rule of law, the autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the independence of Serbia’s judiciary.