Zoran Stankovic talked in Bujanovac with leaders of the Albanian political parties in South Serbia about the network of courts and prosecutors' offices. The establishment of the Basic Court in Bujanovac was proposed, as well as of the Magistrates Court and a department of the Prosecutor’s Office in Presevo.   

President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Nedjo Jovanovic, discussed in Bujanovac the network of courts and prosecutors' offices in the region with leaders of the Albanian political parties in South Serbia.  

Explaining the criteria according to which the network of courts in Serbia was developed, Mr. Jovanovic said that the establishment of the Basic Court in Bujanovac was proposed, while the Magistrates Court and a department of the Prosecutor’s Office would be in Presevo.

"In this way, the judiciary is represented in this territory, and there is no doubt whatsoever whether Bujanovac and Presevo gained or lost something. They certainly gained something and  didn’t lose anything by any means", said Mr. Jovanovic.   

Stating that the talks were useful, Mr. Jovanovic said that he hoped he had managed to convince them that the government and the Ministry of Justice had only one motive by which they were led when constituting the network of courts, which is that justice should be accessible to the residents.

He added that upon the adoption of the Law on Seats and Territories of Courts and Public Prosecutors’ Offices, the Law of Notaries, which had already been passed, would be enforced,  which is largely needed by the residents of the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo.  

According to him, notaries will take over 90 percent of what has, so far, been done in the courts, such as physical division of the property, verification of documents and issuance of certificates, while a small percentage of extrajudicial procedures will remain the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts.

Mr. Jovanovic said that he would convey to the Justice Minister, Nikola Selakovic, all the requests and suggestions of the Albanians, so that the overall situation could be analyzed, bearing in mind that a debate on the requests and amendments of the Albanians was underway at the Serbian Parliament.  

Leader of the Democratic Party and the mayor of Bujanovac, Nagip Arifi, said that they had submitted to the Serbian government a request for amendment of the Bill of Seats and Territories of Courts and Public Prosecutor’s Offices, which includes the return of the Basic Court to Bujanovac and Presevo, the Misdemeanor Public Prosecutor's Office in Bujanovac, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Presevo and a department of the Higher Court from Vranje in Presevo.  

Mr. Arifi said that MP Riza Halimi had referred their requirements, through the amendments, to the Parliament and that they were undergoing the Parliament’s procedure. He also voiced hope that those requirements would be adopted by the Serbian Government.  

Mr. Stankovic said the network of courts wasn’t the only topic discussed with the Albanian leaders, but also future reforms prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

The meeting was attended by the mayor of Presevo, Ragmi Mustafa, President of the Albanian National Council, Galip Beciri, Leader of the Democratic Union of Albanians, Rahmi Zulfiu, and Leader of the Movement for Democratic Progress, Jonuz Musliu.

Also present at the meeting were Leader of the Democratic Union of the Valley, Skender Destani, President of the Municipal Committee of the Party for Democratic Action in Bujanovac Saip Kamberi and the OSCE representative Eric Manton.

Source: RTS