Word of director
"The challenges facing the judiciary in the process of European integrations, primarily the necessity of harmonizing the local legislation with the EU acquis and generally recognized standards, introducing new institutes and its application in the proceedings, represent a motivating factor for the Judicial Academy to keep improving its work and introducing contemporary methods of learning.
Efficient, professional and transparent judiciary have been recognized as the core values that we, as the society, strive for. In its work the Judicial Academy is committed to the importance attached on this path to quality, professional approach and integrity.
The Judicial Academy contributes to the promotion of credibility of the entire judicial system. By joining forces, we build a professional, independent and impartial judiciary, that is efficient in its proceedings and accountable in its actions, and this is something we all stand for."
He graduated at the Law School in Belgrade, where he passed his Bar Exam. He has held the position of the Director of the Judicial Academy in Belgrade since January 2010.
In 2013, he became a member and as of 29 December 2017 he has been the President of the Commission for the Implementation of the National Judicial Reform Strategy.
His field of expertise are human and minority rights, rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as the Trade Union rights.
In the period from September 2005 until December 2009 he was Director of the Judicial Centre for training and professional advancement.
In the period from January 2004 until September 2005 he worked as the human rights coordinator at the Judicial Centre for training and professional advancement. In this capacity, he was also a member of the Working Group for harmonizing the laws of Serbia and Montenegro with the EU acquis.
From December 2001 until the end of December 2003 he worked as a legal advisor and the Head of Office of the Norwegian Centre for Refugees (Human Rights Project) in Niš.
From May 2001 until December 2001, he worked as a legal adviser and Deputy Head of Office of the Norwegian Centre for Refugees (Human Rights Project) in Kraljevo.
From April 2000 until May 2001 he worked a legal advisor and a coordinator of mobile legal teams at the Norwegian Refugee Centre (Human Rights Project) in Kraljevo.
From October 1999 until April 2000, he worked as a legal adviser at theHumanitarian Law Centre. He offered legal aid to refugees, internally displaced persons and conducted investigations and reported on the missing Serbs and kidnapped persons. He was also in charge of inspection of ethnic minority rights.
In 1997 and1998 he worked as a legal counsellor at the Yugoslav Human Rights Legal Council in Belgrade.
In addition to academic education, his working and hands-on experience, he also attended numerous professional seminars, courses and trainings:
- Seminar on EU Convention on Fundamental Human Rights;
- Trade Union courses organized by the Trade Unions and sponsored by the American AFL-CIO Federation of Unions;
- Seminar on electoral systems organized by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
Publications
He has published a large number of essays, scientific papers and analyses, to name just a few:
- The Annual Report on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Serbia (in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007);
- The Law and Practice on Juveniles in Serbia, 2012;
- An analysis commissioned by the Council of Europe on Training of Judges in the Republic of Serbia on Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, etc.
History of the Academy
International documents, prepared both by the United Nations and the Council of Europe highlight a close link between the initial and continuous training and the independence and efficiency of the entire judicial system. Consequently, as a member of these organizations, the Republic of Serbia, committed itself to the obligations arising from these international documents.
The Judicial Centre for Training and Professional Advancement was established in 2002 and in 2010 it grew into, in many ways, a unique educational institution, which was verified by the adopted Law on the Judicial Academy.
By establishing the Judicial Academy, a clear institutional framework regulating the training was created with the aim of further development of modern, efficient and impartial judiciary, but it also created an important objective criterion for the election and career advancement of judges, public prosecutors and deputy public prosecutors.
Under its current name, the Judicial Academy has been actively engaged in special trainings and continuous development of professional knowledge and skills, not only for judges and prosecutors in Serbia but, to a large extent, also for other staff employed in the judiciary system.
Vision
Independent, impartial, professional, efficient and accountable judiciary.
Mission
Create the prerequisites for the development of professionalism in holders of judiciary office by establishing clear, measurable and objective criteria for the election and career advancement and their training and professional development, in line with core values and principles the judiciary system is founded on.
Goal
Develop and conduct training programmes for holders of judiciary offices and other staff in the judiciary system, aimed at acquiring new knowledge and its promotion, development of special abilities and skills, to contribute to strengthening of professional and accountable judiciary system.
