Seven months has been dedicated to judicial reforms!

Seven months has been dedicated to judicial reforms.

- We overturned the decision of the previous government to increase the Notary Fee tenfold - in response to the unfounded excessive increase in the fee made shortly before the departure of the previous government.

- After 8 years, the Chamber of Experts has become functional! It is registered in the Central Register, which ensures greater transparency, independence and professionalism in the expert assessment process.

- We have started reforms for the Judicial Council. We held expert hearings on the amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council, we heard the opinions of experts, judges, and prosecutors. The reform agenda that was officially approved by the European Commission on October 23, 2024 obliges us to have a new law on the Judicial Council by June 2025.

-As a result of meetings with several trade union organizations, we have begun drafting a new Law on Judicial Service, given that for substantial reforms in the judiciary, it is not enough to focus only on the courts, their status and responsibility. The judicial system also consists of thousands of employees, such as: court clerks, employees who perform technical and auxiliary work in the courts, and court police officers, without whom the judiciary cannot function.

-We have opened an office of the Commission for Financial Compensation to Victims of Violent Crimes. This step ensures conditions for better protection of human rights and financial compensation for victims, in accordance with the principle of social solidarity.

-We have prepared legislative amendments to the Law on Free Legal Aid, which the Parliament has already adopted. This has expanded access to justice for the most vulnerable citizens in our society.

- As a result of numerous meetings with the expert public, civil society and international organizations, we held public hearings on the Criminal Procedure Code to further modernize and rationalize our legal processes, after which it will be released into the government procedure.

- We have approached the completion of the decade-long process of codification of civil legislation. At the request of civil society organizations and the expert public, public hearings on the Civil Code are planned, in order to present the concept, but also to hear comments and ideas for improving the concept, which aim to increase the legal certainty of citizens.

- We enabled the full implementation of the Femida system - an audio-visual system for recording of court hearings that will ensure transparency in court proceedings, before courts throughout the country, including the Administrative Court. This has been waiting for as long as 14 years.

- The international agreement on the exchange of data for the verification of asset declarations and the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents entered into force.

-The reforms are taking place in accordance with the Justice Sector Development Strategy for the period 2024 – 2028 with its Action Plan. The priority is to reconstitute the Council for monitoring the implementation of the Justice Sector Development Strategy.

Many new projects, measures and activities are yet to come!