Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia

The European Council granted Serbia the status of a candidate country in 2012 and accession negotiations were launched on June 28, 2013. The EU accession negotiations on Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) were opened in July 2016. The Action Plan for Chapter 23, designated in the Screening Report as the opening benchmark, is Serbia’s overarching strategic action framework for the rule of law, incorporating directions for the reform of the judiciary, the anti-corruption system and the protection of fundamental rights.

While the Action Plan for Chapter 23 envisages a whole set of measures to address prevention and fight against corruption – the “Facility supporting the strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia” is an action aiming to strengthen the preventive and repressive anti-corruption measures as the protection of fundamental rights. The overall objective of the Action is to contribute to the achievement of obligations stemming from Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” in line with the EU acquis.

The National Dutch Ombudsman and CILC are implementing activities related to Output 3 is looking at strengthening the fundamental rights protection – Work Package 5 – “Ombudsman”. The capacity-building activities and benchmarks are implemented in order to increase the capacities of the fundamental rights protection institutions, such as advising on amendments of legislation, and strengthening the capacities of the Ombudsman’s Office and the local Ombudsman offices.