Serbian Lawyers Punish Controversial Reformers

The Belgrade Lawyers Association has rejected the request of Nata Mesarovic, former president of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the High Judicial Council, to enter the register of lawyers.

Another key figure involved in the controversial judicial reforms of 2009, Snezana Malovic, a former Minister of Justice, was earlier rejected by the Lawyers Association from Subotica in February.

Mesarovic and Malovic were the main figures in the reform of 2009 under which more than 800 judges lost their functions.

Slobodan Soskic, the president of the Belgrade Lawyer Association, said Mesarovic was not worthy of belonging to the legal profession.

"Her behaviour as the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation and High Judicial Council was fatal to the establishment of judicial reform in Serbia," Soskic said.

However, Aleksandar Cvejic, the Board Secretary of the Belgrade Lawyers Association, admitted that Mesarovic had grounds for feeling unfairly treated.

"This whole process in her case has been... burdened by a certain kind of prejudice, maybe because of her previous function and everything that happened in the so-called judicial reforms," he said.

"In this regard, the case is not being treated in the same way they treat other applicants for admission," Cvejic added.

In 2011, Serbia's Constitutional Court quashed the 2009 reforms after which the dismissed  judges were returned to their positions.

In October 2014, charges were filed against Mesarovic and Malovic for the crime of abusing their authority abuse and violating the rights of the 837 sacked judges. The process is still ongoing.

In April, Malovic withdrew her request to join the Lawyers Association from Subotica claiming that their objections to her...