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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Code of conduct of local authorities enters into force

Belgrade, 13 February 2006

Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Zoran Loncar said today that the aim of public administration reforms is to provide high quality administrative services for citizens and have public administration bear the main burden of social and economic reforms.

Author: Tanjug

At a press conference at Belgrade's Sava Centre regarding the implementation of the code of conduct of local authorities, Loncar said that administrative reform both on the central and local levels, is a complex and time-consuming process, and recalled that the government has already passed several laws regulating this sector.

He said that the ethical code, prescribing proper behaviour of local authorities towards citizens, is of huge importance for the country, and has so far been accepted by 145 out of 167 municipalities in Serbia.

Unlike a law, this code is an obliging act for members of local governments, said Loncar. The ethical code brings order and regularity into the work of local authorities, builds up trust between citizens and local authorities and is a necessary precondition for successful functioning of local governments, explained Loncar.

According to Loncar, by accepting the code, local authorities will accept a principle of responsibility in their work and publicly state they are ready to apply European standards in public affairs, which is the aim of the Serbian government.

He pointed out that, when it comes to local authorities, the state should make the ethical code into legal norm in the near future. The year 2006, he announced, will be the year of reforms in local self-governments, and to achieve this, Serbia needs to have a new constitution, amend laws on local self-governments and pass a law on the City of Belgrade and a law on work relations in local self-governments.

President of the Permanent Conference of Cities and Municipalities in Serbia Zeljko Ozegovic recalled that in February 2004, the Permanent Conference started working on the project on the conduct of local authorities in Serbia, and added that the first stage of the project has been completed. The next stage, that is the implementation of the code, now begins, he added.

The code protects citizens from the self-will of local authorities, but also members of the local self-government from unethical behaviour of some citizens, stressed Ozegovic.

First Secretary of the European Commission’s Delegation to Serbia-Montenegro David Hudson said that the EU has noticed Serbia's progress regarding fighting corruption, not only on the local, but also on the national scale. Members of local authorities must be aware of their responsibility, and citizens in turn of their rights, said Hudson.