Judicial and prosecutorial ethics were in the focus of the study visit to Ljubljana, Slovenia, organised for members of the Ethics Committees of the Serbian High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutorial Council within the framework of the joint European Union/Council of Europe action “Strengthening independence and accountability of the judiciary”.

The goal of the study visit was for participants to acquire a deeper understanding of the way in which the Slovenian judicial system responded to the 4th Evaluation Round of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption GRECO, which dealt with corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. The key emphasis was on sharing knowledge, experiences and lessons learned with respect to mechanisms in place which are relevant for judicial and prosecutorial ethics and integrity, especially regarding confidential counselling on ethical matters.

Over three days, members of the two Ethics Committees and the Commissioner for Autonomy of the Public Prosecution, met with their counterparts from all relevant judicial institutions, including the Slovenian Judicial Council, the State Prosecutorial Council, the Supreme Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, and also with members of the Ethics and Integrity Commissions and the Confidential Counsellor on Ethics and Integrity of the Judicial Council.

The visit was organised with support from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, which hosted the delegation for an exchange on developing the regulatory framework for ethics and integrity in the judicial and prosecutorial system. Members of the Serbian Judiciary were welcomed by Mr Marjan Dikaučič, the Minister of Justice.

The delegation was also hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose officials presented the country’s priorities in the on-going presidency of the Council of the European Union, especially highlighting their support to credible continuation of the enlargement process for Serbia and the rest of the Western Balkans.

The visit was organised within the action “Strengthening independence and accountability of the judiciary”, which is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.