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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Justice Ministry pushes eight bills through parliament, drafts ten more

Belgrade, 25 June 2004

In the first 100 days of its work, the Serbian Ministry of Justice pushed through parliament eight bills and prepared another ten, which, according to Minister Zoran Stojkovic, should be introduced in parliament in autumn and thus round off the regulations under the ministry’s jurisdiction. The bills about to be finished include a new penal code and a bill on the protection of those taking part in criminal proceedings, which is often wrongly interpreted in the public as a law on witness protection measures.

The new penal code incorporates all international agreements ratified in the Serbian parliament, and also introduces the concept of “chain-of-command” responsibility, for cases when a senior officer fails to prevent his subordinates from committing a criminal act.

The code also envisions milder penalties for minor crimes and heavier penalties for the most serious ones, with the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, instead of the current 15 years.

Speaking about the bill on the protection of those taking part in criminal proceedings, Assistant Minister of Justice Branislav Bjelica explained that this law will not define who is eligible for protection and who is not, since that is in the domain of the Law on criminal proceedings.

According to Bjelica, this bill will define terms and procedures of the protection of those taking part in criminal proceedings and those whom they say are close to them, not just their families. The bill also envisions the protection of property belonging to those involved in criminal proceedings.

Measures of protection are physical protection of person and property, relocation, protection of identity and property data, and the most serious measure, change of identity. Bjelica said that the draft law allows for all countries of southeastern Europe to sign an agreement which would enable persons under protection to move to other country. That is necessary because countries of southeastern Europe are small and it is questionable whether a person who changed identity would really be safe if they are relocated within their own country.

The Deputy Justice Minister said that the draft law has been prepared in cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the US Embassy to Serbia-Montenegro. Experiences of experts from the Hague tribunal were used and a comparative analysis of these laws in 13 countries was made.

He added that details of the draft law will be presented to the public at a special press conference that will be held on July 6 together with OSCE representatives.

Speaking at a press conference today, Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic said that the situation inherited from the previous regime was very bad and that the independence of judiciary was dubious, as well as its mere functioning. For that reason, the Ministry of Justice adopted a set of laws which enabled the judiciary to work without obstacles and independently.

The Minister of Justice said that representatives of bar associations took part in the preparation of these laws, and that the OSCE provided considerable financial and professional assistance.