The Annual Conference of Judges of the Republic of Serbia – Judicial Days 2025 – was traditionally organised in Vrnjačka Banja from 21 to 23 May 2025, with the support of the joint CoE/EU project “Support for the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Serbia”.
In his opening address, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, Mr Janos Babity, highlighted that the European Convention on Human Rights is marking its 75th anniversary this year. Mr Babity emphasised that this first convention of the Council of Europe is the cornerstone of all its activities. Referring to the Report of the Secretary General, he underlined that judicial independence requires structural safeguards as well as the functional autonomy of judges and judicial bodies, protecting them from undue influence. Acknowledging important steps undertaken by Serbia in legislative reform, he stressed that full implementation of the new rules and a change in legal culture require all stakeholders to work together. The role of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council in enhancing such a profound change in legal culture is essential.
Following the opening speech of the President of the Supreme Court, Jasmina Vasović, opening addresses were delivered by the President of the Constitutional Court, Mr Marković, the President of the High Judicial Council, Ms Delibašić, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Delegation of the European Union, and other representatives of international organisations and supreme courts from the region.
Traditionally, the programme of the conference involved panel discussions organised in criminal, civil, and administrative sections, addressing a number of pertinent contemporary legal topics. The Council of Europe expert, Ms Nada Djordjević, a judge of the Higher Court in Belgrade and a member of the Association of Judges, presented the new legal framework in the field of the election of judges as members of the judicial council. The discussion evolved around the new procedures, control mechanisms, and the need to address certain deficiencies identified in previous election processes. In the context of judicial independence, participants underlined the vital role of the judicial council in protecting judges from undue influence, emphasising the need for its public responses against such influence.
The continuation of support for the implementation of judicial reform and the enhancement of legal culture through cooperation programmes of the Council of Europe was reaffirmed.
