Serbia adopts judicial reform bills for the Judicial Academy and related courts

The Serbian government approved a draft law establishing a Judicial Academy and amendments to the laws governing the public prosecutor's office, judges and lobbying. The measures aim to strengthen the Academy’s institutional independence, improve training programmes and align Serbia’s judicial framework with European standards and the Venice Commission’s recommendations.

The Ministry of Justice announced that the Venice Commission confirmed Serbia has implemented two key recommendations: refining the jurisdiction of the High Council of the Judiciary and the High Council of Prosecutors over the Academy, and removing the justice minister from the Academy’s governing board. The commission praised the new legal provisions for enhancing candidate equality and gender balance, while noting further technical refinements could be made.