Ana Brnabic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)
The Serbian speaker, Ana Brnabic said on Feb. 23 that representatives of the Venice Commission would soon visit Belgrade, adding that the authorities were prepared to discuss public criticism of recent amendments to judicial laws, and that changes, if required, would be made to the new legislation.
"I do not shy away from criticism, nor from the possibility that - if we find out that something in these judicial laws needs to be changed, let’s change it. The intention behind them was never to diminish in any way what we have already achieved regarding the autonomy of the prosecution and the independence of the judiciary ... Today I am here to say that I am ready to discuss this," Brnabic said at the expert forum "Contribution to Strengthening the Culture of Dialogue - Judicial Laws," organized by the Association of Judges and the Association of Prosecutors of Serbia.
Brnabic underlined that it had been necessary to hold a public debate on the set of laws known as the "Mrdic laws," adding that, as the Serbian speaker, she was taking responsibility for the fact that such a debate did not take place.
Brnabic requested an urgent opinion from the Venice Commission on the amendments to the judicial laws adopted following a proposal by the Serbian Progressive Party’s MP Ugljesa Mrdic. The Venice Commission responded that its urgent opinion would be sent for adoption to the plenary session of the Council of Europe’s advisory body in June.
Representatives of the two associations presented a series of critical remarks on the new legislation, stating that the problems "are not limited to procedural violations, but carry substantive negative consequences for the judiciary."
The president of the Constitutional Court, Vladan Petrov, said at the gathering that two initiatives for constitutional review of the "Mrdic laws" had been submitted to the Court - one by MPs and another by the Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime - adding that the Ccourt will be "ready to handle the case more quickly."
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.