Security sector in Serbia on the path of legal erosion and increasing politization

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) invites you to the panel discussion „Security sector in Serbia on the path of legal erosion and increasing politization“. The event will take place on Thursday, February 1, 2018, starting at 11 a.m. in Media Center (Terazije 3, Belgrade), II floor, Main Hall.

 

The panel discussion is organised regarding a series of law proposals that recently entered the parliamentary procedure. Reference is primarily made to the amendment proposals on the Law on the Police, Law on the Security Information Agency, Law on Serbian Armed Forces and Law on Defense, as well as on the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection.

 

Discussion will be conducted in Serbian. English translation will be provided.

The speakers at the event will include:

• Katarina Djokic, BCSP

            Amendments to the Law on Serbian Armed Forces and the Law on Defense

• Sasa Djordjevic, BCSP

            Amendments to the Law on the Police and Law on the Security Information Agency

• Djordje Krivokapic, SHARE Foundation

            Draft Law on Personal Data Protection

• Milan Lipovac, Centre for Applied Security

            On the need for a comprehensive legal framework of the security sector in Serbia

• Moderator: Predrag Petrović, BCSP

 

 

Solutions in these draft laws and amendments significantly deviate from the democratic standards provided in existing legal texts. Although these changes seem unimportant and easy to overlook, their purpose is to strengthen discretionary powers of politicians who manage security institutions, as well as to increase the power of these institutions vis-à-vis individual rights and freedoms.

Adoption of poorly justified and inadequate laws and by-laws at the expense of citizens was made possible by a rather deficient constitutional framework of the security system and sector. No attempts were made so far to provide for a comprehesive legal framework of the security system by any government in Serbia. Instead of adapting the system to the needs of citizens, they have constantly adopted halfway and inconsistent legal solutions. This event therefore aims to incite debate on the possibilities of solving systemic problems in this delicate area at the constitutional level in order to put an end to progressive bottom-up system erosion.

By pointing to the gaps and flaws of the legal framework of security sector in Serbia BCSP aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on constitutional reforms, which has thus far been focused on the judiciary. The existing legal framework in these areas has been identified as a major hurdle for further progress within chapters 23 and 24 of Serbian accession negotiations with the European Union.