[ad_1]
Today, members of the Serbian Parliament elected new members of the State Council of Prosecutors and the Higher Council of the Judiciary, as well as several presidents of courts throughout Serbia. They advocated for the Assembly to elect judges in the future and opposed the announced changes to the Constitution that should make it impossible. In reaction to the appearances of the people’s deputies, the Association of Judges of Serbia says it is “not clear to them” why the government is “so against the independence of the judiciary.”
The usual choice of judges, today’s session of the Assembly was marked by unusual proposals from the deputies of the ruling coalition. Instead of judges electing judges, as the Venice Commission says, deputies held the view that judges should be chosen by them.
“All the more so because the court, when it issues a verdict, it does so on behalf of the people, and the only connection between the people and the state is this parliament here. Says Vladimir Đukanović, deputy from the list” Aleksandar Vučić – For our children ” .
Djukanovic then took another step:
“Even as they say, in France, for example, Macron or the president of France, whoever it is, only proposes judges declaratively, and imagine if we proposed here that Aleksandar Vučić proposes judges declaratively, then we were crucified in all the media.”
Toma Fila also agreed with his fellow deputy, with a somewhat harsher condemnation of the mechanism for electing judges, as provided for by the constitutional reforms.
“What do you think, what is the finding of the Venice Commission, that I really did not understand better, that ten of you elect judges, work in them, so that they are not independent, they are not a god. Only God does not have to ask No one God-given power is also one of the types of power and someone must control it, said Fila, who is a member of the “Ivica Dacic – SPS, JS” list.
The Association of Judges of Serbia says it is not clear to them why the government is so against the independence of the judiciary. They affirm that the independence of the judiciary does not mean that the judiciary distances itself from the people, on the contrary.
“It brings it closer to the citizens and the independence of the judiciary is in the citizens’ interest, therefore, in accordance with European standards. That is why we are surprised by such proposals and this opposition of the political government to the independence of the judiciary” . “This election is absolutely in line with European standards. We also have a proposal that in these bodies, as is the case now, the majority should be judges, that is, prosecutors to reduce political influence in the judiciary,” he said the president of the Association of Judges. From Serbia Gordana Vidojkovic.
After the election of the judges, the debate on the Code of Conduct for deputies continued today in the Assembly. The vote for its adoption is scheduled for tomorrow.
[ad_2]
