June 2014
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) released its Detention Procedure Assessment Tool report for Serbia on June 6. Presented during a Belgrade event, the report evaluates the country’s pre-trial detention procedures and practices against regional and international laws, norms and best practices. Representatives from the Serbian Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the bar association, the media, international organizations and the U.S. Department of Justice attended the event.
The assessment found that while Serbia has been working to make its criminal justice system more efficient, the use of pre-trial detention remains excessive and often neither corresponds to the offense’s gravity nor takes a defendant’s special circumstances into account. The report also found that alternatives to detention—which could make criminal procedures more fair and efficient—are not utilized sufficiently.
The assessment, which ABA ROLI and Partners for Democratic Change’s Serbia Center conducted in late June and early July 2013, was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. You can access the Detention Procedure Assessment Tool here.
To learn more about our work in Serbia, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at [email protected].