By Katica Djurovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 14/12/12
Montenegro eliminated its court case backlog through reform measures. [AFP]
Courts in the Balkans have been inundated with unresolved cases, but a set of comprehensive measures undertaken in Montenegro may be the way to eliminate the backlog and improve judicial transparency, legal experts said.
"Courts in Montenegro are no longer burdened with old cases. The duration of trials, appeals procedures and extraordinary remedies have been drastically shortened so that a court case that lasted three years and seven months on average now lasts four months," Vesna Medenica, president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, told SETimes.
Reforms made it possible for overburdened Montenegro courts to delegate cases to less burdened ones and transfer judges to help busy courts. Overtime work and work on Saturdays are now options, as is hiring of professional experts, mostly retired Supreme Court justices, to help judges process verdicts more efficiently.
Montenegro also has made it a policy to employ more judges and is filling vacant positions, formerly a lengthy procedure done in parliament, through a procedure which may not last more than 40 days.
In addition, all court presidents in Montenegro meet monthly to create a workplan with deadlines for particularly time-consuming cases such those on organised crime and corruption.
Legal experts in the region laud the progress made in Montenegro.
"We are already implementing similar measures ... especially [on] the redistribution of work and improving court networks," Milica Vuckovic, representative of Serbia's ministry of justice, told SETimes.
Courts in Serbia currently have 3.5 million cases pending.
The new court network, which was established in 2008 to speed up the judicial process, reduced the 138 municipal courts to 34 basic courts, according to Dragana Boljevic, president of Serbia's Association of Judges.
"Now we have the situation that there are fewer courts and judges but more cases," Boljevic told SETimes.
Given the situation, litigation may take years and the constitutional court is inundated by citizens' complaints to affirm their right to a speedy trial.
"The numbers show an uneven approach to justice and the unequal position citizens and legal entities are in while seeking protection of their rights," Boljevic said. Faced with the severe backlog, Serbia's justice ministry established a working group in August to address the problem.
"This group created criteria to re-establish basic courts in the places where they [once] existed. Depending on the number of 'old' cases, the ministry will try to determine and apply measures to be taken in certain courts to resolve all cases within a reasonable time," Vuckovic told SETimes.
The government announced it will open nearly 80 new courts next year. It also plans to reopen courts in large towns and establish courts along the border with Bulgaria.
Other planned measures include adding judges and court staff, temporarily rescheduling working hours and hiring private legal experts to help the courts close the old cases, Vuckovic said.
Source: SETimes.com
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