At the invitation of the president of the Serbian Judges’ Society, Radmila Dragicevic-Dicic, the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, attended the Society’s Electoral Assembly. Addressing the Society’s members, Mr Markovic said that the Assembly needed to change the Society’s governors – not because they have made mistakes, but because it was ‘good to change’.

‘Much has changed in our country, and none of us are completely satisfied. In a changing society the judiciary must change also. The judiciary is not going to become independent at somebody’s word; you will achieve it yourselves through struggle, and I am ready to support you’, Markovic said. He reiterated that many new laws have been adopted, and that many hitherto unregulated areas are now regulated by law. ‘The public expects you to obey and implement laws, but the laws are new, both for you as for them, and you need to get additional education’, he added. He called for everyone to contribute to the establishment of stability, solidarity and self-respect, and to attain standards that would together ensure the advancement of an independent judiciary in Serbia. Markovic announced the adoption of a National Assembly strategy, the passage of a Criminal Proceedings Act, and the quick completion of a judiciary building to house all courts under one roof.

The Electoral Assembly of the Serbian Judges’ Society was addressed by the presiding justice of the Supreme Court of Serbia, Vida Petrovic-Skero, the Assistant Minister of Justice, Branislav Bjelica, as well as by guests from ‘Republika Srpska’ –the Serb entity in Bosnia – and Croatia.