Blockade of the judiciary in Belgrade: Lawyers' strike until demands are met

The suspension of the work of the Belgrade Bar Association (AKB) is just a continuation of the multi-year struggle in the triangle of lawyers-banks-citizens. Banks have been charging clients loan processing costs for years. Lawyers represented the citizens, who rebelled against it, in proceedings against the banks, but the law did not foresee a uniform procedure, so in 2018 the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled in favor of the citizens and the legal profession.

The problem arose when the same court in September of this year adopted an amendment to the position, which, as AKB claims, contradicts the previous one and practically means a verdict in favor of the banks.

The vice president of AKB, Saša Ivanišević, says that the suspension of the work of lawyers will be a problem for both citizens and lawyers, that trials will be postponed for several months, and that criminal law will be the most affected. He adds that all members are obliged to respect the decision of the AKB assembly, but that he does not expect that all Belgrade lawyers will be disciplined.

The decision to suspend work until the request is met was made at an extraordinary session of the Belgrade Bar Association, which was convened after the lawyers had collected the required number of signatures. They are looking for the removal of the legal uncertainty caused by the adoption of the position of the Supreme Court of Cassation on procedures with banks, in a way that would be acceptable to citizens and the legal profession.

Also, they request that the Draft Law on Amendments and Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure be withdrawn from public discussion, and that, if changes are necessary, representatives of the Belgrade Bar Association be included in the working group for drafting them. They are also asking for their tax obligations to be frozen until an agreement is reached regarding the taxation of the legal profession.

The first two requests refer to the problem arising from the conflict with the banks, while the lawyers have been insisting on the third request for a long time.

According to Ivanišević, the AKS call center, which is used for the assignment of ex officio lawyers, will not work in the Belgrade area from tomorrow, and judges and prosecutors will probably call lawyers on their own.

Back in November, the Conference of Lawyers, a body that gathers all lawyers from Serbia registered in the Chamber, voted to recommend the Bar Association of Serbia (AKS) to suspend its work, but the AKS refused.

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