BELGRADE – Pro-European opposition parties – People’s Movement Serbia, Movement of Free Citizens, Serbia Centre (SRCE), Party of Freedom and Justice, and Green-Left Front, adopted a statement at the premises of the European Movement in Serbia, on the eve of the conclusions by the Venice Commission, on the controversial set of judicial laws, adopted by the National Assembly on 28 January, which had been proposed by Uglješa Mrdić, an MP of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
The statement notes that “Serbia is in a deep political and institutional crisis”, since “during the long rule of the Serbian Progressive Party and President Aleksandar Vučić, there has been a systemic collapse of institutions, rule of law and security of citizens”.
“Endemic corruption seriously threatens the functioning of the state and has direct, tragic consequences for the lives of people, as evidenced by numerous accidents caused by institutional negligence. There are numerous deaths related to the collapse of public infrastructure and irresponsible management of public systems, including the fall of the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024”, the statement reads.
The pro-European opposition parties state that “instead of ensuring the independent judiciary, as the basis of the fight against corruption, laws were adopted that strengthen political control over the judiciary, without public debate and contrary to the obligations in the process of accession to the European Union, which further undermines the rule of law and the responsibility of high state officials”.
“The signatories of this statement point to the basic principles, goals and measures for the immediate and fundamental restoration of the rule of law in Serbia, for the strengthening of democratic institutions, ensuring the independence of judicial institutions and establishing an effective fight against corruption and organized crime that are fully consistent with the values and standards of the European Union”, the document stresses.
According to the signatories, the priority in defending the rule of law is to ensure “full independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and real independence of the judicial power”, as well as “functional and institutional independence of the entire judicial system, in accordance with the Constitution of Serbia and international standards”.
In addition, the signatories believe that it is necessary to enact a new law on the Constitutional Court that will guarantee the full independence and impartiality of the Constitutional Court, with a clear prevention of its political instrumentalization and turning it into an extended hand of the executive power, as well as to implement “the complete depoliticization of the police with a mandatory review of the previous work of the police and the sanction of all those responsible for political persecutions, unlawful arrests, abuse of power, unauthorized wiretaps and other serious violations of human rights”.
“The political influence of the Minister of the Interior on the operational work of the police must be substantially limited. The security and intelligence system of Serbia must be regulated by a single law, leading to the complete depoliticization and professionalization of the leadership, with mandatory review of the previous work of the services and criminal and legal prosecution of all who participated in political persecutions, arrests of students and citizens, unauthorized wiretaps and use of illicit spy programs”, the pro-European opposition.
At the same time, it is noted that it is necessary to adopt and fully implement the new Anti-Corruption Strategy and the law on prevention of corruption, with a special focus on high corruption of public office holders and related business structures, as well as the new law on the origin of property, in order to further strengthen the legislative framework and practice for confiscation of property acquired through criminal acts.
Also, the signatories believe that the priority of Serbia must be the conclusion of a working agreement with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (ESPO) and the implementation of all recommendations of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).
“In order to break the continuity of systemic abuses and restore citizens’ trust in institutions, it is necessary to implement a legal, time-limited and individual lustration of public office holders, in accordance with the good practices of other countries, according to the assessment of the European Court of Human Rights”, the statement reads.
It is clarified that the aim of lustration is “to prevent the holding of public office by persons who have seriously violated the democratic order and/or human rights”.
“The adoption and application of the above measures will enable the fulfilment of the main interim benchmarks in Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security), set out in the EU accession negotiations as early as in 2016, with a focus on real evidence of anti-corruption and organized crime implementation of the regulations, in order to enable the obtaining of the Interim Benchmarks Assessment Report (IBAR) and hence the roadmap for the closure of EU accession negotiations. This would give Serbia a real opportunity to join the EU as soon as possible”, the signatories conclude.
