The project aims to improve the digital environment for journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) in Serbia, with a specific focus on shielding them from abusive court proceedings, notably SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) cases.
The pre-event, organized by the Human Rights House Foundation, Netherlands Helsinki Committee, and Austausch e.V. – For a European Civil Society (formerly DRA e.V.), with support from the European Union and the Netherlands, provided valuable insights into the role of civil society in promoting and protecting human rights.
Milan Filipović, Director of Research at the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) was one of the speakers at the webinar “User-Friendly Courts”. Organized by the International Association of Court Administration (IACA), the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Millennium Partners, and the East-West Management Institute, this event aimed to explore strategies for establishing accessible and inclusive justice systems.
YUCOM recently conducted a training in Novi Pazar in collaboration with the institution of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data. This training was part of the “Strengthening Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia” program and aimed to educate authorized individuals responsible for protecting personal data from over 40 public institutions in Novi Pazar.
Last week, Marija Maljan from YUCOM, among participants from Czechia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, and Slovakia, has participated in NGO Leadership Workshop for civil society activists and leaders, organized in Bratislava by the William Davidson Institute and Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia at the University of Michigan, together with Slovakia-based partner Hekima.
The Working Group of the National Convention on Chapter 23 condemns the illegal election of new heads of public prosecutors and public prosecutors by the High Prosecutorial Council on June 19, 2023, thereby calling into question its commitment to implementing constitutional reforms. Certain competitions for chief public prosecutors were announced as early as 2021, and with the adoption of new laws, the method of selecting chief public prosecutors has been completely changed.[1] The most important change is that public prosecutors are no longer elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, but by the High Prosecutorial Council, and that procedure must now be completely conducted by this body. Since this election grossly violates the new Law on Public Prosecution, we call for the initiation of proceedings from Article 56 (2) of the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council, and for the current president of this body, Branko Stamenković, to resign, as he obtains the function responsible for ensuring that the work of the Council is in accordance with the law.
The third field training session for the improvement of the free legal aid system in the Republic of Serbia took place on Monday, June 19th, starting at 10:00 a.m., in the small hall of the Officers’ Club (Orlovića Pavla 28a) in Niš. Persons invited to attend this type of training were graduate lawyers employed in the local self-government units of Niš and surrounding cities and municipalities, as well as authorized personnel responsible for deciding on applications for free legal aid, and employees in the budget and finance departments.
The aim of this Guide is to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises become familiar with legal proceedings and provide answers to the questions they may have before addressing the court regarding misdemeanors and economic offenses. It enables them to have a more realistic and comprehensive understanding of the judicial processes before entering the proceedings. The Guide contains basic information about proceedings before the misdemeanor and commercial courts in Serbia; details about the costs of legal proceedings; key information and guidelines, as well as relevant templates.
Milan Filipović, Director of Research at the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM), participated in a regional consultative meeting in Vienna on May 29, 2023, at the invitation of Clemont Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.