At the sitting held on 25 March, the Justice and Administration Committee considered the Ombudsman’s 2009 Regular Annual Report and the High Judicial Council’s Annual Activity Report. Both reports were discussed but without conclusion since the Committee lacked a decision-making quorum.

Presenting his office’s last year’s report, Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic estimated the administration’s attitude towards the citizens as dissatisfactory adding that the state administration reform had failed to give the expected results since the administration has not been depoliticised. He pointed out that the excessive administration was inefficient in its duties and as an example of bad realisation of citizen’s rights, listed the difficulties in receiving documents such as passport and ID because of the staff employed by these bodies. The Republic Ombudsman said that one third of the criticisms he receives from the citizens related to complaints to slow and lengthy court proceedings, adding that the effects of the judicial reform were yet to be felt. Jankovic recommended that the reform of public administration be done systematically based on the analysis of the conditions and to work on strengthening internal control over the state administration.

Presenting the institution’s 2009 Activity Report to the Committee members, President of the High Judicial Council Nata Mesarevic stated that the first report on the effects of the judicial reform can be expected by the end of the year, and that the real effects and results of the reform would be known in two to two and a half years. She estimated that the reform implemented in Serbia severed the connection between lawyers, businessmen, tycoons and political parties and that the reform was implemented in order to improve the conditions in the judiciary. Nata Mesarevic announced that the process of election of judges for the 81 vacancies for which a public competition was called should be complete by the end of April and pointed out the incomplete composition of the High Judicial Council which lacks one more member from the ranks of law faculty professors.

At the sitting the Committee members agreed to visit the Penal Correctional Facility in Nis and special psychiatric hospital in Gornja Toponica on 23 April 2010 along with the members of the Committee on Health and the Family and Committee on Labour, Ex-Servicemen’s and Social Issues, in order to gain insight into the conditions for the realisation of the inmates’ rights and their health care.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Bosko Ristic.