European Union works together with Serbia so as to consolidate rule of law and human rights observance, the key aspects on Serbia’s EU path, said Oskar Benedikt, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia at a meeting on revision of functioning of justice, a project led by Multi Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support.
A report from research, conducted by the World Bank for the project, concludes that Serbian judiciary lags behind the achievements of EU Member States and it is necessary to bring about changes in areas that are falling behind.
“After six months of thorough research and intensive discussions with all relevant stakeholders, we have prepared a detailed analysis of current state and functioning of justice system in Serbia, both within the sector itself and its relation to public and beneficiaries,” Benedikt said.
“At the moment, our joint efforts are focused on the sector of justice and fundamental rights in the process of EU accession and in the framework of Chapter 23,” Benedikt said.
“As this thorough and impartial assessment provides a real overview of the situation on the ground and clear recommendations on how and what should be done, as well as who should do it, we believe it is the key contribution to Serbia’s efforts aimed at reforming the justice sector,” Benedikt added.
He called on Serbian authorities to consider key recommendation proposals and take them into account in the final stage of Chapter 23 Action Plan preparations.
European Union has supported Multi Donor Trust Fund, worth 10 million and managed by World Bank, with two million euros. Benedikt added that EU would continue to support justice sector reform led by activities foreseen in Action Plan.
EU support has been focused on rule of law earlier on: so far, 1.9 million euros have been allocated to strengthening of the system of civil lawsuits, whereas another nine million euros, aimed at improving judiciary efficiency, will have been collected by the end of 2015, Benedikt said.
Apart from financial support offered to the highest judiciary bodies, such as the High Court Council, the EU will also support the improvement of prison conditions, with a total budget of 5.5 million euros.
