Back Judicial institutions review progress in strengthening legal culture and public trust in Serbia

Belgrade 17 June 2026
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Judicial institutions review progress in strengthening legal culture and public trust in Serbia

Strengthening legal culture, improving institutional communication and reinforcing public trust in the judiciary remain key priorities for justice sector reform in Serbia, as concluded at the second Steering Committee meeting of the action “Strengthening legal culture in Serbia and capacities of the judicial and prosecutorial councils” held in Belgrade on 17 June 2026.

The meeting brought together representatives of the Council of Europe, Delegation of the European Union and beneficiary institutions to review the results achieved during the first six months of project implementation and to discuss planned activities for the period July–December 2026.

Participants reviewed key achievements in strengthening the capacities of judicial councils, promoting legal culture, supporting the harmonisation of judicial practice, improving communication between judicial institutions and the public, and developing educational activities for law students and young legal professionals.

Particular attention was devoted to support provided to judicial institutions in enhancing transparency, professionalism and accountability in line with relevant European standards. Participants also discussed forthcoming activities aimed at further strengthening institutional capacities, improving communication practices and fostering a dialogue among judicial institutions.

The participants underlined the importance of continued co-operation among all relevant institutions and partners in implementing project activities and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening public trust in the judiciary and promoting legal culture in Serbia.

The action “Strengthening Legal Culture in Serbia and Capacities of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils” is implemented within the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

Work in this thematic area focuses on prisons and police (including human rights in policing, healthcare in prisons and safeguards against torture and ill-treatment), human rights standards in the judiciary (focusing on enhancing the application of case-law of the European Court of Human Rights), migration issues, the efficiency of justice systems (with a focus on analysing judicial statistics to optimise court administrations) and/or legal co-operation (which concentrates on increasing the individual independence of judges and prosecutors and the accountability of the judicial system).

Actions under theme I: Strengthening justice

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.