Ana Brnabić: Serbia receives initial opinion on judicial reform package

The preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission on Serbia's package of amendments to judicial-legal laws has been received, and the final opinion will be announced soon, stated Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, Report informs.

She noted that implementation and amendment of the laws in accordance with the recommendations would begin immediately.

According to the speaker, comments on the opinion will be submitted by tomorrow, and the expert group's final opinion is expected in the coming days.

Brnabić noted that as soon as the parliament receives the expert group's final opinion, it will begin working on amendments to the laws so that this opinion is fully implemented.

The speaker also drew attention to the fact that, following the opinion of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on election laws, public discussions will be held in several Serbian cities by the end of the week, and these laws will be a priority in parliament.

"On Friday afternoon, I received ODIHR's second opinion on amendments to three election laws – the law on the election of deputies, local elections, and the Constitutional Court. This is already the second opinion stage, and almost full agreement has been reached," the Serbian speaker.

Brnabić added that on March 13, a draft law on the financing of political activities was also sent to ODIHR, and an opinion on this document is also expected: "These are absolute priorities for the future activities of the parliament of the Republic of Serbia."

Earlier, a package of judicial-legal laws was adopted in Serbia, and those laws provide for the return of temporarily appointed prosecutors in specialized bodies to their previous positions.

The said package of laws was met with protests in Serbia. The European Commission called on the Serbian leadership to suspend the implementation of the mentioned package of laws.