What happens if you have a legal problem but you can’t afford a lawyer?
In Serbia, we are one step closer to answering that very question.
The average salary in the country is around €365/month, but court and lawyer fees often climb to many times more than this. As a result, most people cannot afford justice.
After Ratko Mladic was convicted of genocide, Srebrenica survivors announced a lawsuit against Serbia and Republika Srpska – but legal experts said they have little chance of winning compensation.
Serbia’s prosecution told BIRN that the indictment of 11 people who allegedly helped Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic hide in Belgrade while he was a fugitive has been declared a state secret.
The families of Serb farmers killed in Kosovo 18 years ago urged Belgrade to sue the NATO peacekeeping force and the UN Mission in Kosovo for not preventing the murders – although experts warned this would be difficult.
A Serbian tour guide company has called off its ’Gypsy Tour’ of Belgrade after being accused of promoting racism.
Serbian experts hope to prove that depleted uranium used in the 1999 NATO bombing poisoned people and to file a series of lawsuits, but legal analysts say they have almost no chance of success.
Courts in Serbia are still sitting on a number of extradition demands, some dating back years, potentially causing concern to the EU.
Serbia’s Justice Ministry told BIRN Belgrade is seeking extradition of 120 person from other countries, while other states seek the extradition of 80 persons from Serbia.
Nacionalni konvent o Evropskoj uniji i predstavnici i predstavnice naučne zajednice i građanskog društva pozivaju Ministarstvo odbrane Republike Srbije da povuče iz procedure usvajanja Predlog Uredbe o oblastima naučnih i drugih istraživanja značajnih za odbranu zemlje i o postupku i uslovima za izdavanje odobrenja za vršenje tih istraživanja zajedno sa stranim licima ili za potrebe stranih lica.
“There is a shrinking space for the debate about human rights and fundamental freedoms in Serbian society. Also, there is less and less public scrutiny of the Government that has a negative effect on the human rights situation in Serbia.”
After more than two years of collecting material the First basic public prosecutor’s office hasn’t found basis to proceed in case of advertised bids of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Policy, that attempted illegal awarding over two million euros intended for social services, said the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM).
As a reminder, the bidding, which was advertised in 2014 it was canceled after all, due to misuse that a number of civil society organizations indicated to, and the money, instead for social services, was directed to the Children’s Rare Disease Fund.
