The functioning of democratic institutions in Serbia
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 23 June 2026 (22nd sitting) (see Doc. 16424, report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee), co-rapporteurs: Ms Victoria Tiblom and Mr Yunus Emre). Text adopted by the Assembly on
23 June 2026 (22nd sitting).
1. Serbia joined the Council of Europe
on 3 April 2003. In addition to its membership obligations, it agreed to
honour a number of specific accession commitments, as listed in
Opinion 239 (2002) of
the Parliamentary Assembly, “Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s application
for membership of the Council of Europe”.
2. Since joining the Council of Europe, Serbia has been under
the Assembly’s monitoring procedure. In its
Resolution 1858 (2012) “The honouring
of obligations and commitments by Serbia”, the Assembly welcomed the
significant progress achieved by Serbia in implementing its obligations
and commitments. It praised Serbia for its political stability,
its efforts towards integration into the European Union and its
co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. At the same time, the Assembly noted a number of important
issues to be addressed and therefore resolved to pursue its monitoring
of the honouring of obligations and commitments by Serbia.
3. Since 2012, the Assembly has not examined Serbia’s honouring
of its obligations and commitments, as several attempts to submit
a new report by its Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and
Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee) have been delayed due to a wide range of reasons, including
frequent changes of co-rapporteurs, the Covid-19 pandemic and the
fact that early general elections were called four times (in 2014,
2016, 2022 and 2023). The Assembly notes that since 2012 the situation
in Serbia has considerably changed and, despite some progress, there
are now serious concerns about the country’s adherence to the principles
of democracy, the rule of law and the observance of public freedoms.
4. It is a matter of concern that, since the 2000 general elections,
all but two parliamentary elections in Serbia have been early elections.
While legally possible, the frequent organisation of elections at
short intervals disrupts the functioning of democracy and State
institutions, no matter which political forces are in power. The next
presidential election is due in spring 2027 and parliamentary elections
at the end of 2027. On numerous occasions President Aleksandar Vučić
has mentioned the possibility of holding early parliamentary elections later
in 2026.
5. The Assembly is concerned about the systematic organisation
of early elections at short intervals since 2000, in particular
where such elections have been used as a mechanism for political
advantage, and urges the Serbian authorities to ensure that early
elections, where called, are conducted in accordance with the constitution
and under conditions that allow democratically elected members of
parliament to carry out their tasks according to democratic standards.
6. The Assembly notes with concern that the Serbian political
environment is characterised by significant polarisation and by
the ongoing tensions between President Aleksandar Vučić’s government
and the ruling majority led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)
on the one hand, and the political opposition, the student movement
and civil society on the other.
7. The Assembly notes that the November 2024 collapse of the
Novi Sad railway station canopy, which resulted in the deaths of
16 people, led to mass protests starting at the end of 2024 and
persisting until the end of 2025. The protests involved a wide range
of social groups and led to the emergence of a student movement that
seeks new elections, accountability, transparency and justice, though
it has yet to establish itself as a new political force. Although
the protests have now decreased in intensity and shifted to organised
symbolic events, blockades, commemorations and regional demonstrations,
they continue to have ongoing repercussions on political life and
society in Serbia.
8. While the right to freedom of assembly was generally respected
during the protests, incidents of abuse of force by law-enforcement
authorities, arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment in custody were
reported. Moreover, in some instances law-enforcement officers failed
to protect protesters from physical attacks by violent individuals.
Journalists were also hampered in their work during the protests.
9. The Assembly urges the Serbian authorities to shed light on
the circumstances surrounding the Novi Sad tragedy and hold those
responsible to account as soon as possible.
10. With respect to the mass protests, the Assembly calls on the
authorities to:
10.1 avoid the use
of unnecessary or disproportionate force against protesters and/or
members of the student movement;
10.2 investigate promptly, independently and effectively cases
of violence against protesters and cases of ill-treatment in custody,
and hold accountable all those responsible for violent acts, whether
law-enforcement officers or private individuals;
10.3 drop all unfounded and arbitrary criminal charges against
protesters and release all those detained solely for exercising
their right to freedom of peaceful assembly;
10.4 stop reprisals, surveillance, retaliatory measures and
smear campaigns against all actors in recent social processes;
10.5 respect university autonomy and prevent law-enforcement
authorities from entering university campuses unlawfully.
11. The Assembly is concerned about credible allegations of the
use of a sonic weapon to disperse crowds during the mass demonstration
in Belgrade on 15 March 2025, which caused mental and physical distress
to numerous protesters. It calls on the authorities to conduct an
investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident and
to provide the necessary legal and medical support to all those
negatively affected by it.
12. The Assembly notes that, on 29 March 2026, local elections
were held in 10 municipalities/cities (Aranđelovac, Bajina Bašta,
Bor, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Kula, Lučani, Majdanpek, Sevojno and Smederevska Palanka)
and were observed by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
of the Council of Europe. It expresses concern about the fact that
these elections were marred by violence and irregularities, including accusations
of vote buying, parallel voter lists and photographing ballots.
The Assembly calls on the authorities to investigate these incidents
rapidly and to hold those responsible to account. It also notes
that, compared to 2022, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
saw a deterioration in the campaigning environment and an even less
level playing field.
13. The Assembly notes that, although a new electoral framework
was adopted in February 2022 and the parliament adopted a law on
a unified voter register, several long-standing recommendations
of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR)
and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
remain unaddressed. Serious shortcomings were also identified by
the international election observation mission that observed the
early parliamentary elections of 17 December 2023, in which the
Assembly participated.
14. The Assembly notes that, on 20 May 2026, some controversial
amendments to the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic,
the Law on the Constitutional Court, the Law on the Election of
Members of Parliament and the Law on Local Elections were adopted
in parliament. The Assembly calls on the authorities to ensure that
the reform of electoral legislation is in line with international
electoral standards and to repeal any legislative provisions that
would violate these standards.
15. As regards the reform of the judiciary and prosecution services,
the Assembly welcomes the progress that Serbia has achieved in this
area since joining the Council of Europe. It notes with satisfaction
the adoption, following a referendum, of amendments to the constitution
on 9 February 2022, which was followed by the adoption of laws on
the organisation of courts, on judges, on the Public Prosecutor’s
Office, on the High Judicial Council and on the High Prosecutorial
Council, which entered into force on 10 May 2023. These laws were positively
assessed by the Venice Commission in October and December 2022 (opinions
CDL-AD(2022)030 and CDL-AD(2022)042) and aim to make the judiciary
and prosecution service more independent and efficient, reducing
political pressure on the appointment of judges and prosecutors.
The authorities have also adopted 36 by-laws to implement the reform
of the judiciary and prosecution service.
16. Nevertheless, despite these reforms, the Assembly is concerned
about recent legislative amendments to the Law on the Public Prosecutor’s
Office, the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council, the Law on the Organisation
and Jurisdiction of State Authorities in the Fight against High-Tech
Crime, the Law on Judges and the Law on the Seats and Territorial
Jurisdictions of Courts and Public Prosecutor’s Offices (“Mrdić
laws”), adopted by the parliament on 28 January 2026 at the initiative
of SNS member of parliament Uglješa Mrdić. These laws negatively
affect the functioning of the judiciary and prosecution service
and might have an impact on ongoing corruption investigations, including
the Novi Sad case. According to these laws, prosecutors’ temporary
assignments to other prosecution offices will now be decided by
the High Prosecutorial Council rather than the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
The competence to decide on objections to hierarchical decisions is
now attributed to the Chief Public Prosecutor of the immediately
superior Public Prosecutor’s Office, instead of a specialised commission
of the High Prosecutorial Council. The new laws also permit court
presidents to be re-elected, rather than serving a single five-year
term, and create the new Fourth Basic Court in Belgrade for the
municipalities of Zemun and Surčin. In its urgent opinion of 24 April
2026 (CDL-PI(2026)007), the Venice Commission criticised the majority
of provisions in the “Mrdić laws”, except for the provision that
prosecutors’ temporary assignments will now be decided by the High
Prosecutorial Council. It was also concerned that the laws were
adopted without public consultation.
17. The Assembly welcomes the amendments to the “Mrdić laws” recently
proposed by the Minister of Justice, which largely reverse the contested
provisions adopted on 28 January 2026. In its “Follow-up opinion to
the urgent opinion of 28 January 2026 amendments to laws governing
the judiciary and the prosecution”, adopted at its 147th plenary
session (12-13 June 2026) (CDL-AD(2026)017), the Venice Commission concluded
that seven out of its nine recommendations included in the urgent
opinion of 24 April 2026 had been fulfilled.
18. The Assembly calls on the Serbian authorities to amend the
“Mrdić laws” as soon as possible, in line with the recommendations
of the Venice Commission, and to pursue further reform of the judiciary
and prosecution services in line with Council of Europe standards.
It also invites the authorities to adopt the Law on Judicial Academy,
in line with the Venice Commission’s recommendations in its opinion
of 9 December 2024 (CDL-AD(2024)036)
,
to fill all vacant positions for judges and prosecutors, and to
improve and modernise the court case management system.
19. The Assembly also urges the authorities to show a genuine
commitment to investigating and adjudicating cases of war crimes,
in particular by appointing the Chief Public Prosecutor for War
Crimes, a position that has been vacant since 2024.
20. The Assembly notes with interest that some limited progress
has been achieved in combating corruption, in particular with the
adoption of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2024-2028
and its accompanying action plan for 2024-2025.
21. It welcomes the progress made in implementing the recommendations
of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) regarding the
Fourth Evaluation Round (on the prevention of corruption in respect
of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors) and the Fifth
Evaluation Round, which tackles preventing corruption and promoting
integrity in central government (top executive functions) and law-enforcement agencies.
However, the Assembly expects the authorities to address swiftly
the remaining recommendations, especially those from the Fifth Evaluation
Round, concerning the integrity of members of government, training on
integrity standards, the definition of lobbying, disclosure of conflicts
of interest and corruption prevention in the police.
22. The Assembly expresses concern about the state of freedom
of association and expression in Serbia. It is dismayed by numerous
reports of reprisals, intimidation measures (including physical
attacks and death threats) and smear campaigns against civil society
activists, human rights defenders, journalists and independent media
outlets. In 2025, Serbia recorded one of the highest numbers of
alerts on the Council of Europe Platform for the Safety of Journalists
and is also among Europe’s leading countries for strategic lawsuits
against public participation (SLAPPs) against media outlets, journalists
and civic activists. Concerns also remain with respect to editorial
autonomy and pluralism of public service media, which are accused
of biased reporting in favour of the government.
23. Therefore, the Assembly urges the authorities to stop reprisals
and other intimidation measures against civil society activists,
human rights defenders, journalists and independent media outlets,
to ensure a conducive environment for their work and the exercise
of the right to freedom of association and expression in general,
and to refrain from taking any legislative measures that would restrict
these freedoms. It also calls on the authorities to resume structured
dialogue with civil society and to ensure media pluralism.
24. The Assembly also expresses concern about revelations of surveillance
of Serbian journalists and activists. It urges the authorities to
end this practice, conduct effective investigations into abuses
and hold accountable those responsible.
25. While the Assembly notes with interest that Serbia has further
aligned its media legislation with the European Union acquis and other European standards,
it is seriously concerned about the current hold-up in the work
of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), whose composition
has not been entirely renewed since November 2024. It calls on the
relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to fill the vacant positions
in the REM with fully independent people capable of upholding media
pluralism, including in the assessment of media ownership transfers.
26. The Assembly resolves to examine the remaining outstanding
issues within the framework of a forthcoming report on the honouring
of obligations and commitments by Serbia.
