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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

New legal solutions cut red tape in foreign trade

Belgrade, 9 June 2005

Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic said that the government has adopted a bill on foreign trade, joint stock takeovers and lawyers’ practice.

Milan Parivodic

Parivodic told the press following the government session that the bill on foreign trade represents a cut in the amount of red tape and it also relieves participants in foreign trade from paperwork, licences and registrations.

According to him, the bill also focuses on customs regulations and foreign currency transactions, and is in accordance with the principles of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the EU.

The Minister pointed out that the bill contains all the safeguard measures approved by the WTO. It also introduces for the first time anti-dumping measures, countervailing duties, excessive import safeguard measures and measures preventing the negative balance of payments.

Zoran Stojkovic

Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic said that the bill on legislature is a modern one, in line with European solutions, and that it also introduces several essential changes.

He explained that the bill introduces the principle of insurance in lawyers’ practice and allows for a fund to be established out of which a client could receive compensation if the lawyer did not provide a competent and responsible service.

Stojkovic said that the bill also contains certain anti-corruption measures, temporarily banning those who have worked at courts, prosecutor’s offices, or judiciary bodies from performing legal practice.

Stojkovic said that the government also adopted the Conclusion invalidating the agreement that granted management rights in Novosti Company to the Council of Ministers.

He explained that the Conclusion was based on a recommendation of the parliamentary privatisation committee, which had established that the ownership structure of Novosti was not properly defined and that the interests of the Republic of Serbia in Novosti were not protected as well as was necessary to establish the ownership structure before continuing the process of privatisation in Novosti.

Stojkovic explained that the government replaced the Serbian Public Defender in order to appoint a man who would better protect the property of Serbia and the country’s interests.