The Third Meeting of Justice Sector Partners’ Forum

The third meeting of Justice Sector Partners’ Forum took place on Friday, December 4, 2009 at the premises of the Judicial Training Centre (JTC). Meeting was hosted and chaired by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia.

The purpose of this Partners’ Forum meeting was three fold:

To engage in a policy dialogue on the future plans and activities of the Ministry of Justice in the process of judicial reform,
To get an update on establishment and future role of the Judicial Academy,
To get an overview of the functions the Administrative Office of the High Judicial Council.

Ms. Dragana Lukic, Assistant Minister, explained that Partners' forum accomplished its scope and presented progress in the justice sector reform and introduced new institutions which are established.

Mr. Nenad Vujic, Director of the Judicial Training Centre (JTC), introduced the new Law on Judicial Academy explaining the future responsibility of the Academy, system of trainings that will be provided, target groups and way of transformation of JTC into Judicial Academy.

Establishment of Administrative Office of the High Judicial Council was very important step in the judicial reform. Therefore Mr. Ivica Ezdenci, Head of the Office, explained that role of the Administrative Office (to perform expert, administrative and other activities) and the plans for better functioning of this institution. Also, representatives of the ECO3 project team explained the activities which were conducted on the project in order to assist the establishment of the Administrative Office. They presented future institutional and financial steps that are necessary to be taken so that the Office would become fully operational.

The need for further assistance to the justice sector reform was highlighted by the Ministry of Justice. International partners concluded that additional resources and technical assistance will be needed to support work of both Administrative Office of the High Judicial Council as well as to support transformation of the Judicial training Centre into the Judicial Academy. Justice sector partners emphasized that newly established institutions will have to deal with the staffing problems, as well as with strategic and business planning. Partners agreed that there are many challenges which Ministry and other judicial institutions will face in the future and that they will continue to support reform of the judiciary in Serbia.