Q:
A:
Serbian district courts overloaded
Belgrade,
15 November 2006
Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic stressed today that after amendments to the Law on court procedure courts have seen an acceleration of procedures and a reduction of cases in municipal courts, though these have increased at higher level courts.
From left: Hans Ola Urstad, Vida Petrovic-Skero and Zoran Stojkovic
Author:
Fonet
Speaking at a regional conference themed "Implementation of New Court Procedures: Practical Application in Serbia and the Region", Stojkovic said that this brings certain legal drawbacks to surface, as well as causes a breach of provisions on deadlines. He added that there is a possibility that district courts will become "clogged" with too many cases.
President of the Supreme Court of Serbia Vida Petrovic-Skero said she is concerned that the implementation of the Law on the organisation of courts has been postponed, adding that district courts in Serbia are already overloaded with cases.
She stated that the implementation of the Law on the organisation of courts could be put off for over a year due to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Petrovic-Skero recalled that she had previously warned that the implementation of legal regulations adopted in the past 12 months will lead to accelerated procedures at first instance courts, but also to delays at higher level courts. District courts have been performing the work of the future court of appeal for three years already, she added.
She said that amendments to the Law on court procedure are not fully put into force so there is no positive effect of the law and final court sentences are still not pronounced within a reasonable timeframe.
Amendments to the Law on court procedure of two years ago have brought about an improvement in the reform of the judicial system, said Petrovic-Skero adding that further work on improving this law is a priority in every country since it provides citizens with an opportunity to exercise their right to legal procedure.
Certain changes planned for the future should enable the third instance in the procedure but only for extraordinary cases, she added.
Head of the OSCE Mission in Serbia Hans Ola Urstad said that the implementation of the Law on court procedure is a real test in the reform process of the Serbian judiciary.
During the two-day gathering, organised by the OSCE and the Supreme Court of Serbia, participants will discuss general principles of court procedure in the region, complaints and comparative solutions regarding extraordinary legal cases.
President of the Supreme Court of Serbia Vida Petrovic-Skero said she is concerned that the implementation of the Law on the organisation of courts has been postponed, adding that district courts in Serbia are already overloaded with cases.
She stated that the implementation of the Law on the organisation of courts could be put off for over a year due to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Petrovic-Skero recalled that she had previously warned that the implementation of legal regulations adopted in the past 12 months will lead to accelerated procedures at first instance courts, but also to delays at higher level courts. District courts have been performing the work of the future court of appeal for three years already, she added.
She said that amendments to the Law on court procedure are not fully put into force so there is no positive effect of the law and final court sentences are still not pronounced within a reasonable timeframe.
Amendments to the Law on court procedure of two years ago have brought about an improvement in the reform of the judicial system, said Petrovic-Skero adding that further work on improving this law is a priority in every country since it provides citizens with an opportunity to exercise their right to legal procedure.
Certain changes planned for the future should enable the third instance in the procedure but only for extraordinary cases, she added.
Head of the OSCE Mission in Serbia Hans Ola Urstad said that the implementation of the Law on court procedure is a real test in the reform process of the Serbian judiciary.
During the two-day gathering, organised by the OSCE and the Supreme Court of Serbia, participants will discuss general principles of court procedure in the region, complaints and comparative solutions regarding extraordinary legal cases.
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