Updated: October 25, 2017
Annual Judges' Conference is the main judicial event in Serbia, held traditionally each autumn in Vrnjačka Banja resort. 157 courts gather during three working days to discuss the crucial legal and judicial issues which arose during the year. Supreme Court of Cassation hosts the conference, supported by the pool of international donors, among which the largest support this year was provided by Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), being administered by the World Bank, through its Justice Sector Support project. Two MDTF consultants Ms. Sonja Prostran and Mr. Milan Bajić acted as part of the organizational commitee in various roles, executing various duties.
THE JUDICIARY TODAY: CURRENT ISSUES OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND EFFICIENCY, STATUS AND POSITION OF JUDGES AND THE COURT OF LAW
The inputs to the keynote speech of President of Supreme Court of Cassation within the traditional annual address regarding Judicial Independence and the Status and Position of Judges and the Court of Law were provided by MDTF Court Jurisprudence Specialist. The inputs to this SCC President's annual address regarding efficiency were provided by MDTF Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.
COURT JURISPRUDENCE HARMONIZATION
In Plenary Session of the Civil and Administrative Section, Justice Vesna Popović from SCC Case Law Department provided the presentation on Case Law Harmonization Activities of Supreme Court of Cassation, which included the range of activities carried out or contributed by MDTF Court Jurisprudence Specialist (joint meetings of SCC & appellate courts, joint meetings of higher courts, identification and selection of disputed legal issues on law on enforcement and security etc.)
COURT AWARDS' CEREMONY COCKTAIL
The highest-profile event within Annual Judges' Conference 2017, supported by MDTF, was Court Awards' Ceremony Cocktail.
The Supreme Court of Cassation President Dragomir Milojević awarded the 26 winning courts in 3 categories.
EUROPEAN STANDARDS OF NE BIS IN IDEM PRINCIPLE
Justice Milunka Cvetković supported by MDTF Court Jurisprudence Specialist prepared paper on this very important topic presenting relevant ECHR and other case law standards.
MEETING OF THE SUPREME COURT OF CASSATION CHIEF JUSTICE WITH PRESIDENTS OF COURTS FROM REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
MDTF Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist moderated the Meeting of SCC Chief Justice with Presidents of courts from Republic of Serbia, focusing on range of issues, including achievements and results re. Unified Backlog Reduction Plan, improvement of enforcement of court decisions, as well as case weighting methodology. In addition, this meeting launched strong support to mediation, as a peaceful dispute resolution substitution to the court proceedings.
