Ministry of Justice to axe 2,000 jobs

Some 2,000 employees will be sacked from the administration after the court system has been computerized, a state secretary with the Ministry of Justice says. Slobodan Homen told B92 that 3,000 people have been hired by the judiciary system and administration in the past five years, but that it had been working “even slower”, and that the only solution was a complete computerization of courts. Ministry of Justice to axe 2,000 jobs “Such a system has so far been introduced to commercial courts and has proven its quality by speeding up the work and preventing corruption,” Homen claimed. He also pointed out that a computer would assign numbers to cases and appoint judges in the future, so there would not be any need for administration. As for the lawyers' protests over the introduction of fiscal registers to their practice, Homen said that they will have to pay taxes, but that it is "impossible to establish control by using fiscal cash registers", and that lawyers could avoid paying taxes in this way. According to this official, there are better ways achieve the same goal. He mentioned "a unique database of all trials that would automatically be sent to the tax administration". Announcing a faster and more efficient judiciary Homen said that by the end of the year parliament would discuss a draft Law on Litigation, which envisages that “the second-degree trials cannot last more than six months”. The secretary also said that "the problem of political influence would be there no longer", which he conceded "was deeply present in the selection for judiciary positions". His optimism is now based on the fact that the Constitution prohibits party members to become judges or prosecutors. Homen confirmed that Serbia's Constitutional Court would be relocated to Sremski Karlovci, in Vojvodina, and that the deadline for this is January 1. When asked about the extradition of leader of the neo-Nazi group Nacionalni stroj Goran Davidovic, he said that they were waiting for the decision from the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, and that there were "no reasons not to confirm the Court of Appeal decision about the extradition".

Ministry of Justice to axe 2,000 jobs

“Such a system has so far been introduced to commercial courts and has proven its quality by speeding up the work and preventing corruption,” Homen claimed.

He also pointed out that a computer would assign numbers to cases and appoint judges in the future, so there would not be any need for administration.

As for the lawyers' protests over the introduction of fiscal registers to their practice, Homen said that they will have to pay taxes, but that it is "impossible to establish control by using fiscal cash registers", and that lawyers could avoid paying taxes in this way.

According to this official, there are better ways achieve the same goal. He mentioned "a unique database of all trials that would automatically be sent to the tax administration".

Announcing a faster and more efficient judiciary Homen said that by the end of the year parliament would discuss a draft Law on Litigation, which envisages that “the second-degree trials cannot last more than six months”.

The secretary also said that "the problem of political influence would be there no longer", which he conceded "was deeply present in the selection for judiciary positions". His optimism is now based on the fact that the Constitution prohibits party members to become judges or prosecutors.

Homen confirmed that Serbia's Constitutional Court would be relocated to Sremski Karlovci, in Vojvodina, and that the deadline for this is January 1.

When asked about the extradition of leader of the neo-Nazi group Nacionalni stroj Goran Davidović, he said that they were waiting for the decision from the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, and that there were "no reasons not to confirm the Court of Appeal decision about the extradition".