Friday, 22 October 2021 00:10

66th Sitting of the Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Issues

At the sitting held on 22 October 2021, the Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Issues discussed the judiciary amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, with the participation of representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition.


At the very beginning of the sitting, Committee Chairperson Jelena Zaric Kovacevic reminded the attending of the procedures organised by the Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Issues as regards the changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in the field of the judiciary. She said that the Committee had organised 11 public hearings on the changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in the field of the judiciary in order to gather information, opinions and views on the changes to the Constitution from various relevant institutions, associations and experts in the field. She added that representatives of the judiciary, professional associations, independent state bodies, public experts and bar associations of Serbia, representatives of civil society, embassies of the EU, UK, USA and Canada, as well as representatives of international organisations, EU delegation in Serbia, OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Council of Europe Belgrade Office took part in these gatherings, said the Chairperson. She also reminded the attending that the Committee had adopted the decision on the establishment of the for the Drafting of the Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia the starting point for whose work were the October 2018 draft constitutional amendments in the field of the judiciary, harmonised with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and improved by the comments of the expert public, adding that the Working Group also worked on the Draft Act for the implementation of amendments 1 to 32 to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.

National Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic also addressed the attending, emphasising the importance and complexity of the task, which the National Assembly, and especially this Committee, play a key role in. He noted that the dynamics of the procedure were good that there are many reasons for it to be completed during the term of the current Parliamentary legislature, which is one of the requirements for constitutional amendment. He also greeted the representatives of non-parliamentary parties: "I welcome you and appreciate your attendance, because from the beginning of this process we have been open to the participation of all stakeholders and suggestions that can come from anyone who wants to be constructive in making the best decisions”, said the Speaker. He informed the attending that on 15 October the Venice Commission gave a positive opinion on the draft constitutional amendments, which was an important step in continuing the procedure. “The representatives of the Commission informed me about it at the meeting I had with them seven days ago, and I am happy to say that with it we have crossed an important threshold toward the full international and professional verification of the work we have done so far. As you know, one of the reasons for the amendment of the constitutional provisions concerning the judiciary is the fulfilment of our obligations related to the European integration process, which we are doing completely transparently in this way and in cooperation with relevant factors, such as the Venice Commission, of course”, Dacic added. He pointed out that this procedure has so far been conducted according to the highest democratic standards and for the provisions for constitutional amendment, adding that he was convinced that it would be so until the very end.

Vladimir Vins, representative of the Ministry of Justice, also addressed the members of the Committee and representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition. He said that the proposed changes to the Constitution are envisaged as an activity in the Negotiation Chapter 23 Action Plan, adopted by the Serbian Government on 27 April 2016 and revised on 10 July 2020, and that they represent the most significant reform in the field of rule of law, which is a fundamental value of any democratic society and one of the priorities of European Union policy. He stressed that the Republic of Serbia is committed to fulfilling the obligations from the Negotiation Chapter 23 Action Plan, as well as to changing the Constitution in order to improve the quality of justice, as well as independence, impartiality, expertise, responsibility and efficiency of the judiciary. If there is to be any constitutional change, it would mean strengthening the rule of law and Serbia's progress in one important area, and with it better assessments in the EU negotiation process, said Vins. He added that the change of the Constitution is a precondition for fulfilling a significant number of recommendations made by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), and that politics would be excluded from the process of election of judges, court presidents, public prosecutors and deputy public prosecutors enabling greater independence of judges and autonomy of prosecutors.

The Committee Chairperson said that the final text has not yet been adopted and invited everyone present to share any concrete proposals they may have.

The representatives of the following non-parliamentary opposition parties took part in the discussion on the Constitutional amendment: People's Party, Democrats of Serbia, Serbian Radical Party, Enough is Enough, Civic Democratic Forum and Healthy Serbia.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Jelena Zaric Kovacevic and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Nevena Veinovic, Adam Sukalo, Luka Kebara, Ilija Matejic, Milos Terzic, Vesna Nedovic, Ugljesa Mrdic, Bratislav Jugovic, Violeta Ocokoljic, Borisav Kovacevic, Olja Petrovic, Zoran Tomic, Dejan Kesar and Zeljko Tomic.


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thursday, 28 march
  • 9.00 - consultations of representatives of the parliamentary groups about the election of deputy chairpersons of the National Assembly working bodies (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 1)

  • 10.00 - visit of the students of Stevan Dukic Elementary School to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - visit of the students of Drinka Pavlovic Elementary School Student Parliament to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - press conference of the Green-Left Front – Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)оwn Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House 13, Nikola Pasic Square. Central Hall)

  • 13.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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