In cooperation with the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, the MDTF-JSS has prepared a Guide for exemption from court fees: fees in civil proceedings and how to get rid of them.
Guide for exemption from court fees is intended for the parties (plaintiff and defendant) in civil proceedings. The guide shows the basic fees of the litigation procedure in a simple manner, clarifies how they are determined, in what time they must be paid and what are the consequences of non-payment of fees. In this way, the party can look at the possible consequences of conducting the proceedings according to its own status and rationally make a decision on the conduct of the dispute.
The main goal of the Guide is to improve financial access to justice and to guide individuals who are in a disadvantaged situation to use the right to exemption from court fees. Multi donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support in Serbia, in the preparation of the Functional Analysis of the Judiciary in Serbia in 2014, notes that individuals with lower incomes do not turn to court because of the costs, so exemption from paying court fees may be crucial to allow them to have access to justice. It should be emphasized that this is especially important for labour disputes, when it comes to unpaid salaries, and where exemption from paying court fees can establish whether or not a person will continue with hers claim. Nevertheless, the general public has fairly limited understanding of the option of court fees exemption, and therefore many potential beneficiaries give up the option of the court because they are not aware that they have this possibility.
The guide provides information and instructions on how a party can be exempted from paying court fees, bearing in mind that this type of exemption from court fees is applied in practice.
