UIA Report- Mission to Serbia

The Serbian justice system has ground to a halt over the past few weeks following a months-long conflict between the legal profession and the government over recent legislative changes concerning primarily the work of public notaries.

Following the recent reform and introduction of the profession of Notary public in Serbia (which grants exclusive rights of practice to Notaries in Serbia in certain legal fields and, as a consequence, deprive approx. 8500 lawyers from a range of traditional fields), lawyers have been on strike since September 17, 2014. They do not attend court hearings and at the police. On November 4, 2014 a protest was held in front of the Parliament, which gathered around 5000 lawyers who demanded amendments to the Law of Notaries Public. At this point, almost all administration of justice in Serbia has been frozen. Further citizens of Serbia cannot enter into agreements in a timely manner as only 92 notaries are appointed who cannot take over the job of 8500 lawyers.

The Serbian Bar Association turned to the UIA and to other international legal organizations, CCBE and IBA, for help in mediating with the Serbian government as they could not find a way to negotiate.

Please find below a report on the joint mission the UIA, represented by Mr. András Szecskay, led in mid-December 2014 in Serbia.