The American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) initiated programming in Serbia in 1997 with the placement of its first rule of law liaison in Belgrade. Since that time, programs have been supported by the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development. The ABA established the Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) in 2007 to consolidate its five overseas rule of law programs, including CEELI—which was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
ABA ROLI was instrumental in helping Serbia’s legal professionals reestablish the rule of law in the country. It worked to support legal profession reform through continuing legal education, bar development, young legal professionals’ development, and anti-corruption efforts. ABA ROLI provided technical assistance to the prosecutors’ and judges’ associations and worked to codify a professional code of conduct and disciplinary provisions. ABA ROLI performed a Freedom of Information Act Assessment, followed by training sessions for judges, prosecutors, government officials, and non-governmental organizations.
In Serbia, ABA ROLI also supported the implementation of the new constitution, assisted in the creation of a judicial training center, introduced practical skills training for law students, and facilitated the establishment of legal clinics at law faculties throughout the country.
From 2012-2017, ABA ROLI implemented a five-year program to improve the ability of Serbian advocates and lawyers to effectively represent their clients by training them on the trial advocacy skills needed to practice under the Serbian Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
From 2010-2021, ABA ROLI facilitated several regional programs on justice sector education and training (2015-2021), which included the creation of an investigative task force leading to an increase in indictments of corruption crimes in Serbia; criminal justice reform processes in the Western Balkans (2013-2019), where ABA ROLI assisted in war crimes documentation in Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo; and access to justice to Roma communities in Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia (2010-2014).