Draft law on trial before EC, CoE within reasonable deadline

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Justice Nikola Selakovic announced on Friday that the Ministry will forward the draft law on protection of rights to fair trial to the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Europe (CoE) in the next few days, and this document aims to contribute to an increased efficiency of the Serbian judiciary.

In the period ahead, we will invest maximum efforts with even more energy and commitment in order to have problems in the judiciary resolved adequately, Selakovic said at a ceremony to deliver awards for innovation and introduction of electronic document exchange systems. He added that one part of the problems covers old court cases.

He expressed expectation that a solution will be soon found in collaboration with the U.S. that would make room for the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on extradition of citizens.

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby stated that the judiciary is a field of major importance for the Serb society and government.

We want to help Serbia get a functional judiciary which will ensure fairness, efficiency and promptness of court proceedings, Kirby said.

Photo Tanjug/R. Prelic (archive)