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Serbian, Austrian justice ministries sign cooperation agreement
Belgrade,
27 March 2006
The Serbian and Austrian ministers of justice, Zoran Stojkovic and Karin Gastinger respectively, signed an agreement today on cooperation, which also implies cooperation in the training of judges, prosecutors and office workers in Serbian courts.
Karin Gastinger, left, and Zoran Stojkovic
At a joint press conference, Stojkovic said that the agreement will provide legal coverage for judicial organs to perform their duties more speedily. He added that Austria will help train ministry employees, which is of importance for ongoing reform of the judiciary in Serbia.
According to Stojkovic, it now only remains for Serbia to sign a declaration on cooperation with Romania and thus wrap up the issue of providing legal assistance to countries in the region.
Gastinger said that cooperation between the Austrian and Serbian judiciary will primarily focus on criminal proceedings and fighting organised crime.
The agreement aims to further increase cooperation between the ministries. Austria is prepared to help modernise the Serbian judicial system, especially regarding the training of employees, stressed Gastinger.
She also said she believes that cooperation between Serbia and Austria will represent a considerable step ahead in Serbia's EU accession process.
At today's meeting, Stojkovic also informed Gastinger on the results of reforms in the Serbian judiciary to date.
Gastinger said she is interested to see the results achieved in increasing the efficiency of court proceedings and stressed the importance of this issue for attracting foreign investors to Serbia.
Stojkovic said that according to the first analyses, commercial courts have increased their efficiency by around 50% and courts of general jurisdiction by 20%, which is especially encouraging for further reduction of court proceedings. He also added that over 40 laws have been amended so far, out which 31 have been adopted, as part of the ongoing reform in the judiciary.
Gastinger congratulated Stojkovic on these achievements and stressed the importance of the fact that these laws are all in accordance with EU regulations, which is an indispensable step towards Serbia's further EU integration.
According to Gastinger, from the viewpoint of Austria which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, Serbia is undoubtedly situated in the very centre of Europe.
Austrian Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro Gerhard Jandl also attended the meeting.
According to Stojkovic, it now only remains for Serbia to sign a declaration on cooperation with Romania and thus wrap up the issue of providing legal assistance to countries in the region.
Gastinger said that cooperation between the Austrian and Serbian judiciary will primarily focus on criminal proceedings and fighting organised crime.
The agreement aims to further increase cooperation between the ministries. Austria is prepared to help modernise the Serbian judicial system, especially regarding the training of employees, stressed Gastinger.
She also said she believes that cooperation between Serbia and Austria will represent a considerable step ahead in Serbia's EU accession process.
At today's meeting, Stojkovic also informed Gastinger on the results of reforms in the Serbian judiciary to date.
Gastinger said she is interested to see the results achieved in increasing the efficiency of court proceedings and stressed the importance of this issue for attracting foreign investors to Serbia.
Stojkovic said that according to the first analyses, commercial courts have increased their efficiency by around 50% and courts of general jurisdiction by 20%, which is especially encouraging for further reduction of court proceedings. He also added that over 40 laws have been amended so far, out which 31 have been adopted, as part of the ongoing reform in the judiciary.
Gastinger congratulated Stojkovic on these achievements and stressed the importance of the fact that these laws are all in accordance with EU regulations, which is an indispensable step towards Serbia's further EU integration.
According to Gastinger, from the viewpoint of Austria which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, Serbia is undoubtedly situated in the very centre of Europe.
Austrian Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro Gerhard Jandl also attended the meeting.
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