A presentation of the Report “European Judicial Systems - the Efficiency and Quality of Justice – 2016 edition” was organized on 23 November 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia, by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, initiated by the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support in Serbia (MDTF-JSS) RA/FU Consultant for the Reform of Legal Professions.
Ms. Silvija Panović-Đurić, CoE Office in Belgrade, Mr. Tim Cartwright, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, Ms. Nela Kuburović, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Serbia and Ms. Ivana Ninčić, MDTF-JSS Consultant, MoJ R/AFU speaking at the promotional event
In the introductory remarks, the Minister of Justice stated that the CEPEJ works towards the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of judicial systems in the Council of Europe member states, aiming to provide an efficient enforcement of civil rights and to increase the level of citizens’ trust in the judicial system, which is also one of the priorities of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. She stressed that in the past two years the cooperation with the CEPEJ has been significantly improved, that special attention is paid to the recommendations and guidelines which establish relevant European standards, as well as that progress has been made in the manner of reporting within the evaluation which is conducted by the CEPEJ every two years. Namely, the information provided is now more precise, but that the data suggests that efforts are necessary in many areas, as well as that the manner of gathering and analysing judicial statistics must be improved.
Mr. Tim Cartwright, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, stated that the Council of Europe supports Serbia's reform efforts in improving the efficiency of the judiciary, that the data and conclusions of the CEPEJ Report are an indicator of success and progress in the process of European integration, and that the Council of Europe stands at the disposal of the Republic of Serbia as its member state, with expert and institutional support.
Ms. Ivana Ninčić presented the main findings of the report and its methodology as well as a guide through using the interactive database CEPEJ-STAT, and main judicial statistics contained therein which pertain to Serbia and comparable countries. Conclusions of the Report relating to the promotion and the use of alternative dispute resolution in civil litigious and criminal cases as a best practice tool for incoming case reduction and, consequently, court backlog reduction, were particularly stressed.
The report indicates that in 2014, using efficiency indicators, 359 days was needed to resolve first instance civil litigious cases in Serbia, 132 days was needed in FYR Macedonia, 298 in Montenegro, 380 in Croatia, 532 in Italy and 603 days in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
An overview of the number of first instance civil litigious cases of received in 2014 shows that in Serbia 3.18 cases were initiated in 2014 per 100 inhabitants, unlike, for example, in Austria and Germany, where the number is much lower (1.11 and 1.76), and even Italy and France.
Compared to the previous reporting cycles, and in accordance with the establishment of a new network of courts which is characterized by an increased number of courts, Serbia recorded a trend increase in the number of first instance courts, with 2.2 per 100,000 inhabitants first instance courts being above the European average of 2.0 in 2014.
When it comes to lawyers, Serbia follows a rising trend in numbers, which is recorded in most of the European countries - Serbia has 118 lawyers per 100,000 inhabitants and it is in this respect similar to Montenegro, the Czech Republic and Denmark, while, for example, this number is significantly lower in Austria and Slovenia (94 and 79), and is significantly higher in Italy and Greece (368 and 388).
CEPEJ is a special working body of the Council of Europe, composed of members of all 47 member states of the Council, tasked with analysis of the efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial systems of these countries, through their comparison and exchange of knowledge on their work and results, with the aim of giving tangible proposals for their improvement, and promoting effective implementation of principles, tools and recommendations of the Council of Europe. The aim is to ultimately reduce the number of cases which are before the European Court of Human Rights and which have been caused by judicial institutions of the Council of Europe member states through various forms of violations of the right to a fair trial.
More information about this year's report and the Ministry’s cooperation with CEPEJ can be found at the following link:
http://www.mpravde.gov.rs/tekst/9293/evropski-pravosudni-sistemi.php
Presentations could be found on the following links:
Link to the CEPEJ Peer Evaluation concerning the collecting of judicial statistics:
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/evaluation/Peer/default_en.asp