The Bar Association of Serbia has sided with the citizens who demand that in the event of a tragedy in Novi Sad, impartial justice be carried out, lawyer Marko Pantić told Vreme.
Members Bar Association of Serbia (AKS) will suspend work for one day, on Wednesday, December 11, due, among other things, to the "illegal way of enacting and adopting laws without adequate participation of the legal profession", but also due to the "selective prosecution of those responsible for tragedy in Novi Sad and selective processing of protest participants in Novi Sad". Lawyer Marko Pantić explains what this means specifically for "Vreme".
"When it comes to the explanations that the AKS is suspending its work due to the selective prosecution of those responsible for the tragedy in Novi Sad and the selective prosecution of the participants of the protest in Novi Sad - it turns out that the AKS wants to say, which I am very happy about, that free people were arrested, and not some officials, that it is a shame that people who protest are arrested after such a tragedy, and none of those possibly responsible for the tragedy, or crime, as some politicians call it, have been arrested," Pantić said.
The president of AKS is "not happy"
He said that the AKS interprets these explanations as meaning that the AKS is "concerned because students and those who protested on November 5 in Novi Sad were arrested, but no one was arrested, or a very small number of people were arrested in connection with the fall of the canopy."
Asked if this means that the AKS has sided with citizens who demand that in the event of a tragedy in Novi Sad, impartial justice be implemented, Pantić answers: "Absolutely yes, as far as I'm concerned."
Nevertheless, he pointed out that the president of the AKS "according to some of his knowledge is not happy" that such a decision was made, because he was in the minority and was outvoted during the decision-making process.
Mock public debate
Pantić pointed out that the main reason for the suspension of work, due to which the regional chambers also suspended work earlier, was the way of adopting the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code in the Parliament of Serbia, at a session that was not held due to a fight.
"Lawyers believe that this is very controversial, primarily because the Criminal Code, along with the Criminal Procedure Code, is the umbrella criminal law. They should not be changed that often. "If the professional public, MPs or the Government of Serbia, as authorized proponents, consider that there are reasons to amend those two laws, it would have to be done after a detailed and thorough expert public hearing, which was absent in this case," Pantić said.
He assessed that the public discussion was completely faked, that only three round tables were held.
"The Ministry gave in under pressure and extended the discussion regarding the Criminal Procedure Code and regarding some amendments to the Criminal Code, but it remained uncontested and will be adopted immediately," Pantić said.
Populist measures
He added that these are populist measures that the Ministry of Justice wants to send a message to citizens that the changes were made in their interest.
As an example, he stated that an attack on a teacher in an educational institution was introduced as a criminal offense and added that many lawyers think that it was unnecessary because there are already many criminal offenses under which attacks on teachers could also be charged.
"It is populism that buys the peace of certain guilds." "A few years ago, the crime of assaulting a lawyer was introduced, but I don't know if anyone has been convicted of that crime," Pantić said.
He added that it is problematic that the penalties for traffic offenses were indiscriminately increased.
Pantić pointed out that the existing punishments for such crimes were not small even until now, but that the judicial policy was such that the perpetrators were punished lightly.
"Now we can get into a situation where someone can actually lose control of the vehicle due to something that is not their fault and they will have to go to jail if someone suffers a serious bodily injury in an accident, and a serious bodily injury can be a broken little finger or a broken nose," Pantić said.
A group of individuals has created two websites where public procurement of the Telecom and IT sectors can be searched and compared. They invite the media, experts and citizens to review the documentation and submit reasoned observations
Very soon it could become obvious whether Milan Radoičić has left Serbia or not
The hospital formed a commission for an extraordinary expert check and informed the health inspection. Cases of death during childbirth in Serbia rarely receive a judicial epilogue.
Two unions of public services supported the request of FDU students for information about RTS employees, since claims appeared in the public that it was a request for "files". The students say they are looking for "public truth about public service."
Among those pardoned is the man who attacked a citizen who came to ask about the street in the office of the mayor of Kosjerić in April. The pardon applies only to one of the two offenses, and the injured party announces a constitutional appeal.
At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
