Report on the Publicity of Work of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council 2023

Avgust 15, 2025 CEPRIS

Photo:CEPRIS

The second CEPRIS report on the transparency of the work of judicial councils during 2023 and 2024 is the result of the work of The Judicial Research Centre’s member Sofija Mandić.

CEPRIS published its first report on the publicity of work of the HJC and the State Prosecutorial Council in 2021. The report covered the period from April 2021 to February 2022. The end of the reporting period coincided with the referendum to amend the Constitution in the part on the position of the judiciary, which took place on January 16, 2022. After the Act on Amendments to the Constitution was enacted, which was promulgated in the National Assembly on February 9, 2022, the changes to the highest legal act entered into force. Then, the convocations of the HJC and the State Prosecutorial Council entered a transitional phase, awaiting the adoption of new judicial laws, primarily the Law on the High Judicial Council and the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council, which were supposed to enable the councils to implement new constitutional powers.

The Law on the High Judicial Council and the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council were enacted in January 2023, and their implementation started in May 2023, when new convocations of the HJC and the HPC were constituted.

In accordance with the amendments to the Constitution, the judicial councils have been entrusted with significant new powers, the most important being the selection of judges and public prosecutors, without the influence of the legislative and executive authorities. The Government of Serbia and the National Assembly have been excluded from the procedure for the election and dismissal of judicial office holders, except for the National Assembly’s role in the election of the Supreme Public Prosecutor.

The fact that the judicial councils, which should ensure and guarantee the autonomy of the prosecutor’s office and the judiciary, are entrusted with new competences has emphasised the need for the public to be objectively and timely informed about their work.

Our goal, as it was the case with the first report, is to contribute to the improvement of the work of the HJC and HPC with constructive observations and suggestions and influence the improvement of their public performance, which would also contribute to an increased trust of the professional public and citizens in the judiciary.