Serbia – annual report 2024
- Details
- Published: September 4, 2025
Strategic Framework
Legal Policy Starting Point
The Republic of Serbia applied to join the EU in 2009, the accession negotiations began in 2014. The Serbian government is pursuing an unclear course between Russia and the European Union, and there are also close ties with China. Following protests by the population over school shootings in 2023, there were numerous further demonstrations against the planned lithium mining in 2024. In autumn/winter 2024, additional demonstrations followed the partial collapse of the railway station in Novi Sad with fifteen fatalities, which were mainly organised by students, pupils and teachers. What these protests have in common is that a large part of the population accuses the state of failing to protect them adequately. Corruption and irresponsibility on the part of state authorities are cited as causes. The Kosovo issue also remains controversial in domestic politics.
In the legal area, the European Union sees the need for adjustments in the areas of “judiciary” and “fundamental rights” as well as “justice, freedom and security”.
On a positive note, however, there are many civil society organisations and individuals with a constitutional state orientation and a desire for change that can be supported by EU-relevant content. IRZ builds on this in its cooperation with young lawyers and up-and-coming legal professionals, in which human rights issues and topics relating to practical law enforcement are dealt with, among other things.
Overall Concept
As part of its activities, which began in 2000, IRZ supports Serbia on its path to the European Union in line with the EU’s Western Balkans Strategy emphasising the importance of regional cooperation, among other things. To this end, lawyers from various countries in the region are involved in measures in appropriate cases. The projects funded by the BMJV and the Federal Foreign Office focus on the effective application of the law in accordance with the principles of the constitutional state and European law. IRZ emphasises the importance of a clear orientation towards continental European legal principles and models. The aim is to avoid mixing the principles of continental European law and common law. It also strengthens co-operation between lawyers from Serbia and the entire region. IRZ’s partners include the Constitutional Court, the law faculties of the Universities of Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac and the Institute of Comparative Law.
Focus of Activity in 2024
Constitutional law, Human Rights and their Enforceability
- Conference on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law on the immutable minimum standards of law, jointly organised with the Institute of Comparative Law in Belgrade
- Participation of the Constitutional Court of Serbia in the regional conference “Strengthening human rights legal protection by the constitutional courts in environmental and climate protection”, jointly organised with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuzla
Administration of Justice
- Regional online workshop to support and network institutions and individuals active in the field of German law with the participation of the Novi Sad Faculty of Law, including the provision of literature and online licences
Basic and Further Training
- Participation of the Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia in the regional exchange of experience on the topics “Improvement and modernisation of legal education”, “Practice-oriented legal didactics” and “Monitoring and evaluation”, jointly organised with the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo
- Regional annual workshop of German-speaking IRZ alumni from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia on the topic of “Current developments in German law” in Belgrade, including the topics of “75 years of the German Basic Law”, “Legal issues in preparation for the EU accession of Western Balkan states” and legal training
- Course “Introduction to German law and the German legal language” for German-speaking lawyers in hybrid format with final weekend in presence, together with the Faculty of Law Novi Sad
- Continuation of the online course “Introduction to German law and the German legal language” for German-speaking lawyers, in particular on issues of civil procedure law
- Guest lecture and expert discussion: “Critical reflection of law in authoritarian systems using the example of National Socialism and the GDR” at the law faculties of Kragujevac and Novi Sad
Project funded by the European Union
EU Service Contract “Policy and Legal Advice Centre (PLAC 4)”
Since June 2024, IRZ has been supporting the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia and other Serbian institutions with EU approximation, particularly in the area of legislation. IRZ is working in a consortium led by the Belgian consulting company IBF on the implementation of the EU project “Policy and Legal Advice Centre (PLAC 4)”. The project, which builds on three previous PLAC projects in Serbia, has a volume of around 2.4 million euros and a duration of 30 months. It focuses on the negotiation chapters 1, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 27 and 32, which were opened during the accession negotiations with the European Union and are currently a priority for Serbia.
The fourth PLAC project is intended to follow-up as directly as possible on the three previous phases and to achieve the following objectives: further harmonisation of Serbia’s legislation with the EU acquis and implementation of the legal framework on the one hand, and strengthening the capacity of the relevant Serbian authorities and institutions for the accession negotiations on the other. In this respect, an important part of the project is to methodically train and support the responsible persons and institutions on the Serbian side, such as the so-called negotiating teams, to conduct the accession process in accordance with EU requirements.
The first months of the project focused on defining activities to harmonise national legislation with the EU acquis communautaire and to coordinate the negotiation process between the European Union and Serbia.
In the coming months, the priorities of the project activities will focus on the drafting of laws, regulations and other documents required to harmonise national legislation with EU law. In addition, several capacity-building events are planned to train the staff of the relevant institutions to implement the new legislation in line with European best practice, for example in the areas of crypto-assets and Capital Market Law.
Outlook
As cooperation with the official authorities in Serbia continues to be hampered by the country’s unclear stance in the Ukraine conflict and with regard to Kosovo, IRZ is concentrating on cooperation with law faculties and academia. Institutions dedicated to continental European legal tradition and research into German law and its reception are to receive more support in future.