Lawyers to cease activities again?

The Chamber of Lawyers of Serbia has expressed dissatisfaction over several contentious issues regarding the practice of law related to its treatment within the accession negotiations with the EU and other legal issues.

To that end, it announced that a lawyers' conference will be held on February 25, where, as the Chamber of Lawyers said, “positions will be defined regarding further measures and activities with the aim of protecting legal security of the citizens and vital interests of the profession, including the possibility of organizing a cessation of activities”.

The announcement specifies that decisions were adopted at the session of January 28, 2017, according to which the legal practitioners of Serbia find it unacceptable to exclude the practice of law from Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and include it in Chapter 3 (Services) within Serbia's accession negotiations with the EU.

Furthermore, they demand that the draft Law on Services be withdrawn from the procedure and that the questions of harmonizing the legal practice regulations with the EU acquis be regulated by the Law on Legal Practice exclusively.

The Chamber also concludes that free legal help, in line with the Constitution, can be provided by legal practitioners and legal aid services in local self-government units exclusively.

As they state, it was also concluded at the session that the position of the High Court of Cassation is that an agreement on real estate transfer signed in the form of public annotation is an adequate document for ownership registration, as opposed to what the Law on Contractual Relations, the Law on Transfer of Real Estate and the Law on Public Notarization prescribe.

Due to this, the said position of the High Court of Cassation should be repealed, the Chamber of Lawyers of Serbia believes.

The Chamber also announced that the the EU Delegation to Serbia and the EC Directorate-General for Justice would be notified of the decisions and conclusions of its Managing Board.

Due to the dissatisfaction with the Law on Public Notarization, the lawyers of Serbia ceased operations for four months in 2014, practically paralyzing the justice system. They managed to have numerous amendments made to the law, after which they stopped the protest, Tanjug reports.

Advokatska komora Srbije

Vrhovni kasacioni sud Beograd

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Chamber of Lawyers of Serbia

High Court of Cassation

accession negotiations of Serbia with EU

judiciary

fundamental rights

chapter 23

chapter 3

lawyers strike

lawyers of Serbia conference

Law on Services

Law on Legal Practice

Constitution of Serbia

EU Delegation to Serbia

European Commission

Directorate General for Justice

Law on Public Notarization