A round table on how to streamline the system of execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Serbia took place on 23 November 2018 in Belgrade. A three-hour meeting with the participation of judges of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Cassation and appellate courts, prosecutors, representatives of relevant ministries, the Government Agent to the Court focused on the immense importance of the rapid and effective execution of the Court's judgments, which advances human rights protection in the member states and enables long-term effectiveness of the European human rights protection system.
The discussion was triggered by the presentation of Ms Katarina Nedeljkovic, the head of Section at the Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of the Court's judgments, in which she made an overview of execution models applied by other member states of the Council of Europe, stressing their strong and weak points. Ms Natasa Plavsic, the Government Agent of Serbia before the Court, underlined problems which her office is faced with due to the absence of detailed normative framework concerning execution of judgments of the Court in relation to Serbia.
Participants in the discussion were unanimous that there was a clear need to normatively regulate the issue of the execution of judgments, through a special law or other legally biding document which would clearly define the role and responsibilities of each actor involved in the process of execution, intersectoral exchange of information, and reporting requirements.
The event was the first in the series to be organised on this subject matter by the Council of Europe in the framework of the Action "Supporting Effective Remedies and Mutual Legal Assistance", which is being implemented in Serbia as a part of the joint Council of Europe and the European Union Programme “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”.
