SERBIA DELAYS CHANGES TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000032 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KTIP KCRM KJUS SOCI SR SUBJECT: SERBIA DELAYS CHANGES TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE REF: 08 BELGRADE 1250 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Serbia will not implement the proposed 2006 amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) that would have introduced improvements to criminal investigations. Instead, the government continues to work on a complete revision of the CPC which will introduce more reforms. At the same time, the government will begin to develop the institutional capacity to put the reforms into practice. End Summary. Serbia Postpones Improvement to Criminal Investigations -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Serbia has delayed implementing changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, but the amendments, first proposed in 2006, remain part of the government's Judicial Reform Strategy. On December 30, the Serbian Parliament passed a bill delaying implementation of the 2006 CPC amendments; at the same time, the government withdrew another bill that would have introduced even more changes. The 2006 amendments introduced key changes in criminal investigations such as prosecutor-led investigations. (Investigative judges currently carry out criminal investigations.) The bill that the government withdrew was intended to harmonize the CPC with the 2006 Constitution and introduce further reforms, including expanding the use of special investigative techniques (e.g., wire-tapping, cooperating witnesses, undercover agents),which can currently only be used in war crimes and organized crime cases, to other serious crimes such as corruption, money laundering, and trafficking in persons. ¶3. (SBU) Government officials assured us these postponements were necessary to give the government time to improve its ability to implement the changes. State Secretary Slobodan Homen told us in mid-December that the government would withdraw the new bill since there would not be enough time for proper discussion of the bill during the fall session of Parliament. Homen said the government also needed more time to prepare for the changes, such as training prosecutors to lead criminal investigations. In her December 31 address to Parliament, Justice Minister Snezana Malovic added that the government also needed to implement the recently passed package of judicial reform laws (reftel). But More Changes to Come in the Year Ahead -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The government still plans to revise the CPC with even more improvements than the withdrawn bill contained, according to our contacts. Assistant Justice Minister Vojkan Simic told us the government would resubmit the withdrawn bill to Parliament in March as a first step. The Justice Ministry also has a working group, which is still meeting, to completely revise the CPC. Simic said a draft would be available for public comment in April and on Parliament's agenda by the fall. The Embassy has been participating as an observer in this working group. Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The bottom line is that Serbia's judiciary will continue to use the CPC as originally passed in 2001 for the time being, but the eventual changes are expected to be better than either the delayed 2006 amendments or the withdrawn 2008 bill. The delay in implementing the 2006 amendments buys some time to build the institutional capacity to absorb these changes. The changes in the CPC are eagerly awaited and should contribute greatly to more effective and efficient criminal investigations and trials. End Comment. MUNTER