Tag: Criminal Law

Amending the Criminal Law in Serbia

Posted on by DPNSEE

The working group of the National Convention on the European Union for Chapter 23 held a regular session on 21 December 2023 in the Palace of Serbia, dedicated to the implementation of the obligations of the Republic of Serbia from Chapter 23 with a focus on amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The meeting was attended by members of the NKEU working groups for Chapter 23 and Chapter 24, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and members of the working groups working on amendments to the laws in question.

The session began with introductory presentations by Jovana Spremo, from the Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights, coordinator of the NKEU Chapter 23 working group, and Branislav Stojanović, head of the negotiating group for Chapter 23 and assistant to the Minister of Justice. They pointed out the importance of the topic of the session, i.e. amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code in the context of the implementation of obligations from Chapters 23 and 24. After them, Vladimir Vinš, assistant to the Minister of Justice and a member of the working groups for amendments, spoke, who informed the attendees about the work of the working groups so far. Neda Marković, senior adviser at the Ministry of Justice, presented the current direction of amendments to this important law.

During the discussion, DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević spoke about the legal regulation of drug use and advocated its decriminalization. Decriminalization means abolishing the criminal offense and treating drug use as a misdemeanour. This would lead to an end to stigmatization and discrimination, as well as reduced pressure on the police, prosecutor’s offices and correctional institutions.

The participants agreed that this type of contribution in the form of specific comments by members of the RG NKEU for Chapter 23 on the exposed drafts of the CC and the CPC is useful, and that it should be continued in a similar format, only to propose specific subtopics or parts of the law that would be discussed.

Following the meeting, as agreed with Mr Branislav Stojanović, head of the negotiating group for Chapter 23 and assistant to the Minister of Justice, DPNSEE submitted a formal proposal for amendments that include decriminalisation of drug use and the possession of drugs for personal use and discrimination and stigmatisation of people who live with HIV.

 

Consultations in the Office for Combating Drugs

Posted on by Milutin

The Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia held a meeting with civil society organisations on 25 February 2019. Besides 11 organisations which signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Office in 2018 (including DPNSEE and 3 of its member organisations), 4 new organisations which established formal cooperation with the Office also joined the meeting.

Most of the meeting was dedicated to the proposals for amendments to the Criminal Law related to drug-related offenses. DPNSEE sent a formal proposal to the Ministry of Justice, the Working group for changes of the Criminal Law it created, The Office for Combating Drugs and the Office for support to the civil society organisations proposing decriminalisation of drug use and possession for personal use and protection of civil society organisations providing services to drug users. The proposal is available in Serbian following this link>>>.

The proposal was appraised as a very good, clear, concise and evidence based, but concerns were expressed that it may not be supported due to current situation in the country and increased conservatism in relation to the drug use. The participants emphasized the need to establish a system of accreditation of civil society organisations services. It should include all elements of their work, from prevention, harm reduction, treatment to social services and rehabilitation.

The Office will, through their representative, present civil society proposals to the Working group for changes of the Criminal Law.

The participation of civil society organisations representatives in the Working group to prepare the new Action plan for implementing the National Drug Strategy was appraised as a very good example of partnership. The Office will propose full involvement of the civil society in designing the new Strategy.

The participants at the meeting also got acquainted with the current activities of the Office on Drugs Policy, exchanged experiences on the previous cooperation defined in the Memorandum and made suggestions for improving it.