22/04/2014, Belgrade: The group of non-governmental organizations addressed the Open Letter to the public and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, regarding the amendments to the series of laws which entered parliamentary procedure as matters of urgency, without public debate or consultations with professional community, demanding the urgent withdrawal of laws from procedure.

The Letter states that the laws in question represent the foundation for Serbian justice system and expresses particular concern regarding the fact that some of the proposed measures may lead to legal insecurity and inequality among citizens before the law, thus jeopardizing basic right of each citizen to accessible legal protection and further erode already undermined trust in legal system, legal state and rule of law in Serbia. It is stressed that some of the proposed solutions further distance the state and its citizens from generally accepted principles and standards of international law, especially when it comes to vulnerable groups of poor, legally uneducated and victims of serious crimes. Bearing in mind strong pro-European orientation and clear political and legal discourse aimed at harmonizing principles and measures with the European Union and combating corruption, it is underlined that non-transparency of the process, as well as the proposed measures themselves are in opposition with the standards which Serbian state representatives advocate, at least declaratively.

More information available in the Open Letter.