Computerized System Boosts Transparency, Confidence in Serbia’s Courts
For four years, USAID has been working with commercial courts in Serbia to help restore public confidence in the judicial system by improving the speed and quality of court services. As part of its court reform project, USAID provided Serbian Commercial Courts with modern computer equipment and software, including over 500 workstations, 300 printers, and 39 servers. Through the project, the Commercial Courts in Sremska Mitrovica, Zaječar and Leskovac have begun using the comprehensive computerized case management system already successfully deployed in Novi Sad and Belgrade.
 |
| Marilynn Schmidt (center), USAID Deputy Mission Director, at the official inauguration of the Case Management system at the Commercial Court in Leskovac. |
The system liberates judges and court staff from cumbersome, manually-kept registry books and paper files, replacing them with electronic court files that can be accessed online. It randomly assigns a judge to a case, thereby eliminating opportunities for neglect or corruption. By increasing transparency, the system heightens investor confidence in Serbia. “This is only the first step. By the end of 2008, we plan to introduce this standardized application in all commercial courts,” said Dejan Pašić, Serbia’s Assistant Justice Minster. “In the past two years, the Ministry of Justice has invested 100 million RSD in supporting infrastructure needed for court modernization, and court staff was trained on how to use the new system.”
The accessibility of selected court case data to legal parties and the general public on the commercial courts’ web site effectively boosted their public image and increased transparency. Last autumn, Serbia’s commissioner of public information recognized Serbian commercial courts as the public institution which had contributed most to establishing national good practices in implementing Serbia’s freedom of information law. “All parties will be able to view and track their cases via the internet, see the date of a hearing, the name of the judge, case number, and other essential case information, enabling them to monitor the status of their case at any time,” reported Svetlana Konjevic, a clerk at the court in Sremska Mitrovica.
Court automation has created a more efficient operating environment for court employees and courts users alike. “An accountable and efficient commercial court system is an important step towards Europe and creating a positive climate for foreign and domestic investments. It is realistic to expect that this system will further improve the already high efficiency of the court, which will ultimately lead to greater safety for companies and promote faster development of this part of Serbia,” said Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Deputy Mission Director, at the official inauguration of the Case Management system at the Commercial Court in Leskovac.
With the December 2008 closing of the Commercial Court Reform Project, custody of the hardware and software associated with these systems was transferred to the Ministry of Justice for continued maintenance in August, pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding between USAID and the Government of Serbia.
Back to Top ^ |
