Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Gert Jan Koopman, said he held an important meeting with Serbian Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić in Brussels.
“The latest amendments to the judicial laws are not in line with Serbia’s EU accession path. Their implementation should be postponed pending the opinion of the Venice Commission and revised through a transparent and inclusive process,” Koopman wrote on Twitter, referring to the new set of judicial laws, known as the Mrdić laws, which are scheduled to come into effect on Monday.
Legal experts in Serbia believe that the so-called Mrdić laws will significantly limit the independence and autonomy of the judiciary and the prosecution service, particularly the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK). Under the laws, prosecutors handling high-profile cases, such as the “Nadstrešnica,” Veljko Belivuk, and Jovanjica cases, would be transferred back to their original offices, putting ongoing investigations at risk.
On Thursday in Brussels, Vujić met with EU Commissioner for Justice Maike McGrath, who expressed serious concern over the adopted laws and clearly stated that Serbia is expected to find legal means to halt their implementation and urgently revise the adopted amendments to address the Commission’s objections.
After the meeting, Vujić stated that “the amendments and supplements to the set of judicial laws represent a significant contribution to a more efficient judiciary, better protection of citizens’ rights, and the improvement of the rule of law,” adding that he informed the Commissioner that Serbia had initiated a procedure to request an urgent opinion from the Venice Commission on the matter.
The Mrdić laws were adopted under emergency procedure without any public debate, but they were nonetheless signed into law by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
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