Critics Warn Serbia's Judicial Reforms May Threaten EU Membership

Impact of Judicial Reforms on EU Membership

By Edward McAllister and Aleksandar Vasovic

Criticism from Judicial Officials

BELGRADE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Reforms of Serbia's judiciary that came into force this week have triggered sharp criticism from judges and prosecutors who see them as bolstering President Aleksandar Vucic's hold on power and undermining the Balkan nation's bid to join the EU.

EU's Response to Reforms

The justice ministry says the new laws, approved by parliament on January 28, will make the judiciary more efficient by streamlining the decision-making process.

Public Protests Against Changes

Ugljesa Mrdic, a deputy of Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) who proposed the changes, also said they would remove "foreign control" of autonomous judicial bodies, without elaborating.

However, many working in the judicial system fear the reforms will erode their independence and jeopardise high-level corruption cases overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK).

Some accuse Vucic of seeking to muzzle dissent, which he denies.

"We are not just taking one step back, but several steps back, to Soviet-era states," said Branko Stamenkovic, a prosecutor in the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office. 

EU IS UNIMPRESSED

The European Union, which formally opened membership talks with Serbia in 2014, has also criticised the reforms.

"This is a serious step backwards because the amendments were adopted in a very fast and non-transparent procedure, without any consultations," Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner, said on January 29.

The EU has long urged Serbia to boost the rule of law and to root out organised crime and corruption.

The reforms come at a pivotal time for Serbia.

Vucic, a populist who became president in 2017 after a stint as prime minister, is expected to call snap elections in the coming months, and high-level prosecution cases may complicate his party's chances. 

Such cases being overseen by TOK include one involving the collapse of a railway station roof in 2024 that killed 16 people and triggered months of anti-government street protests.

Vucic dismissed those protests as a plot by foreign intelligence agencies - including those from neighbouring Croatia, Albania and Kosovo - to overthrow the government, without providing proof. Those countries denied his accusations.

'CHANGING THE RULES AT HALF-TIME'

The judicial reforms include limiting the mandate of chief public prosecutors and granting court presidents - responsible for court administration - greater powers over judges.

"Although the amendments may appear minor, they are akin to changing the rules of a basketball game at half-time... in order to prevent one team from playing," Savo Manojlovic of the opposition Move-Change movement told Reuters.

The amendments also limit the opportunity for prosecutors to be assigned to TOK to work on specific cases, which are often large and complex, raising the risk - critics say - that the country's top body tackling organised crime will wither.

"If the TOK continues to be extinguished or is formally shut down, it is clear that ... it will be impossible to establish any potential ties between state organs and organized criminal groups," said Miodrag Majic, an Appellate Court judge.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Vucic said Serbia was open to a review of the reforms with European bodies.

However, the opposition points to his past attacks on the judiciary. For example, last November he chastised prosecutors for releasing protesters arrested during the anti-government rallies.

This week, prosecutors, lawyers and judges took to the streets to protest the new laws.

"Without an ... autonomous prosecutor, there is no justice. Without an independent court, there is no justice and state," lawyer Srdjan Popovic said at a protest in the northern city of Novi Sad on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Edward McAllister and Aleksandar VasovicEditing by Gareth Jones)