Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

State must do all it can to clamp down on corruption

Belgrade, 29 February 2008

Serbian Minister of Justice Dusan Petrovic said today that the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Agency is one of the government’s priorities and noted that the text of the draft law has been harmonised with international regulations.

Dusan Petrovic

Author: Fonet

At a round table discussion on the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Agency, organised by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Council of Europe, Petrovic stressed that this issue is of great importance to citizens because all who perform public duties are financed from the budget.

He added that the Anti-Corruption Agency will in no way influence other bodies in charge of the fight against corruption.

Assistant Minister of Justice Slobodan Homen stated that the adoption of this law will be the first step towards intensifying the fight against this type of criminal activity, because the state must do all it can to clamp down on corruption.

While discussing the draft law on fighting corruption, Homen said that, bearing in mind its importance, he expects the Serbian parliament to adopt the law by emergency procedure, so that the agency may start working next January.

The task of the agency will be to resolve any conflict of interest, asses property owned by officials, monitor the implementation of the national strategy for the fight against corruption, monitor and organise the work of state organs in the fight against corruption and inspect the finances of political parties, said Homen.

He said that the agency will be authorised to take legal measures against officials and any state organs refusing to comply with the agency’s orders.

Penalties will not be light and are to include fines as well as making public the identity of officials found to have broken the law, said Homen.

The Assistant Minister of Justice said that the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Agency will not only help resolve any conflict of interest but also regulate matters such as accepting gifts; an official may accept a gift which is worth 5% of the average net salary in Serbia.