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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
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DE RUEHBW #1478/01 3450925
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110924Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0451
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001478 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON), INL (A. SIMIC) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MAKES FIRST JUDICIAL REFORM 
APPOINTMENTS 
 
REF: A) BELGRADE 1284 AND PREVIOUS,; B) BELGRADE 258 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Serbian National Assembly November 30 confirmed the 
first round of judges and public prosecutor selections required by 
judicial reform legislation.  The judge and prosecutors appointed 
to several high-profile positions are highly respected 
professionals.  Rumors persist that there are lists of politically 
unacceptable individuals who will not be selected.  Remaining judge 
and prosecutor selections will occur by January 1, 2010, when full 
implementation is required.  While we were pleased to see several 
highly competent individuals - many of whom are excellent contacts 
- appointed, the government will need to educate the public about 
the reasons for these changes in order to foster greater confidence 
in the judicial system.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Prosecutors, High Court Judge Selected 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The National Assembly confirmed the first round of judge 
and prosecutor selections required by Serbia's judicial reform 
legislation (Ref A) on November 30.  The State Prosecutorial 
Council (SPC) and the High Court Council (HCC) had selected the 
nominees for Assembly confirmation from thousands of both sitting 
judges and prosecutors and first-time applicants.  Appointments 
included several high-profile positions and many, but not all, of 
the prosecutors for the new court system.  The current acting 
Supreme Court President Nata Mesarovic was elected President of the 
new Supreme Court of Cassation, which will be the highest court. 
Zagorka Dolovac will replace acting Republic Public Prosecutor 
Slobodan Radovanovic.  Vladimir Vukcevic will continue as War 
Crimes Special Prosecutor, and Miljko Radisavljevic will continue 
as Organized Crime Special Prosecutor. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) All of the high-profile appointees are well-respected 
professionals.  Mesarovic has had a long career in the judiciary 
and most notably presided over the panel of judges that rendered 
the guilty verdict in the case of the assassination of Prime 
Minister Djindjic.  As acting President of the Supreme Court, she 
is President of the High Court Council, a position she will retain. 
Dolovac is acting Belgrade District Public Prosecutor and most 
recently was heavily involved in the Kovacevic case (Ref B). 
Vukcevic and his office have been highly praised for professionally 
and vigorously prosecuting war crimes cases, regardless of the 
ethnicity of the alleged perpetrators or victims; he is also 
respected for his work on Serbia's cooperation with the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). 
Radisavljevic is recognized for significantly increasing organized 
crime prosecutions, including prosecuting politicians, and 
observers are particularly pleased at his reappointment. 
 
 
 
Surprises and Rumors 
 
-------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Of equal note is the talk about which judges and 
prosecutors will not receive appointments.  OSCE Serbia Rule of Law 
and Human Rights head Ruth Van Rhijn told us that highly respected 
current president of the Belgrade District Court (which includes 
the Special Court for War Crimes and Organized Crime) Sinisa Vazic 
had made it "widely known" that he was not interested in continuing 
as court president and would be seeking a position as judge.  Vazic 
is particularly highly regarded for his work with the Special Court 
at a time of minimal support from the Justice Minister. 
Mesarovic's predecessor as Supreme Court President, Vida Petrovic 
Skero, who had been a strong and very visible advocate for judicial 
independence, reportedly did not apply for any judgeship. 
 
BELGRADE 00001478  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Rumors continue that there are lists of individuals who 
are considered unacceptable for appointment, either because they 
are "known" to be inept or corrupt or because the government 
considers them politically undesirable.  OSCE Judicial Reform Legal 
Adviser Mato Meyer told us that one prosecutor well-regarded in the 
donor community for her work on judicial reform would be demoted to 
deputy prosecutor due to political factors. 
 
 
 
Next Steps 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The HCC and SPC now need to complete their review of 
applications for judges and prosecutors.  The National Assembly 
will then need to confirm any first-time candidates; selections of 
sitting judges and prosecutors do not require confirmation. 
Mesarovic announced in a December 2 interview with daily Politika 
that 90% of the judge elections had been made, and the HCC would 
announce its decision in the next 10-12 days.  The HCC also must 
select 4,500 lay judge positions and cut 2,000 out of 13,000 court 
personnel slots required as part of the Justice Ministry's 
budget-trimming exercise.  The transfer of case files and archives 
to the new court locations, which began December 1, also needs to 
be completed.  Mesarovic cautioned that from December 15 through 
the end of the year, work at the courts would slow to a near 
standstill due to the transition and the full benefits of judicial 
reform would take two to three years, as personnel and citizens 
adjusted to the new system.  The law requires that the selections 
and implementation of the new system be completed by January 1, 
¶2010. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
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¶7.  (SBU) This round of selections is encouraging, and we are 
pleased to see so many energetic professionals, who have also been 
exceptionally good contacts, continue in their work.  We take the 
rumors of political lists with a grain of salt.  Some who did not 
reapply for positions may not have wanted to adjust to the new 
system, which imposes additional responsibilities on judges and 
prosecutors.  Had the process been purely political, candidates 
such as Radisavljevic - who has prosecuted numerous corrupt 
politicians - would likely not have been reappointed.    The rushed 
nature of the selection process and the lack of transparency 
undoubtedly contributed to these rumors, which highlight the need 
for the government to better explain to the public the transition 
and why the disarray caused by judicial reform will be worth it in 
the long run.  Serbians have a well-founded mistrust of the 
judicial system following decades of corruption and political 
subservience of the judiciary.  Only a successful restructuring 
combined with a vigorous public education campaign can overcome 
this legacy.  End Comment. 
BRUSH