Mijodrag Radojević
FREE LEGAL AID IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS - BETWEEN LEGAL NORM AND REALITY
The subject of this article is the model of free legal aid in Serbia, which has been applied after the adoption of the Law from 2018. In the narrative part of this research, the main focus is on the analysis of the most important solutions in positive legal regulations. Comparing to other legal systems, in Serbia there is a special regime of free legal aid set up. The legislator distinguishes between free legal aid and free legal support, with a significant role of local government units. The aim of this research is to test the hypothesis of the effectiveness of this model of free legal aid. Taking into account the objective difficulties, which also affected the implementation of regulations, the author summarized and elaborated the weaknesses of the institutional model. In addition, the possible directions of future development of system of free legal aid have been pointed out.
European Standards and Constitutional Changes in Serbia
The author examines the influence of European integrations on the constitutional process and determines directions of the constitutional reform in the Republic of Serbia. At the time of adoption of the 2006 Constitution, the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) have been monitoring the process and providing good offices. Their objections have been partly incorporated in the supreme legal act of Serbia. Yet, however, this Constitution does not fully meet European standards in terms of the manner of adoption and content of the constitutional matter. This paper critically examines EU and CoE criticism and points to other problems concerning altering the Constitution. Opinion of the Venice Commission was a starting point in reconsideration of European organisations’ critiques regarding the Constitution of Serbia. Lack of consensus on institutional and political reforms makes future constitutional review uncertain.