Preparation of Terms of Reference for improving judicial efficiency in the Republic of Serbia

Detailed description of project Back

Serbia has been making steady progress in reforming its judiciary to meet the criteria for EU accession. Following the adoption of the National Judicial Reform Strategy in 2006, the Government of Serbia has been engaged in legislative work to re-build and modernise the judiciary in line with the principle of separation of powers. Since 2009, Serbia adopted a number of judicial laws, regulating every aspect of the Serbian judiciary’s operations.

This assignment is meant to prepare for the implementation of the above mentioned project, with reference to Component I — Judicial efficiency, for which the focus will be on process improvement through ‘mentoring’ judges, sharing best practices & extensive training of court staff The project under this component is meant to improve the case management within the courts of general jurisdiction in Serbia, based on a process improvement review and subsequent development of Best Practices, building onto already existing experiences.

The global objective of this assignment is to assist in development of Terms of Reference regarding the improvement of the efficiency and the public image of the judicial system of the Republic of Serbia by improving its operational procedures, introducing professional development and education of judicial personnel.

The specific objectives of the “Preparation of Terms of Reference for Improving judicial efficiency in the Republic of Serbia” are twofold:

• Asses the current situation within the Serbian judiciary, with a focus on efficiency, public image and professional development and education for court staff and court leadership, as well as assess the assistance related to justice/judiciary in general;
• Provide Terms of reference for a technical assistance contract within the IPA 2012 project Support to the Rule of Law System in Serbia, component I (budget EUR 9 million).Under this contract the EU Delegation in Serbia has requested assistance in reviewing the current ways of procedure within the Serbian judiciary, as well as the ongoing assistance, upcoming and completed projects financed by the EU.

And other donors and also in preparing the ToR for implementation of activities within the first component of the Project Fiche – on the basis of a general assessment of the developments in the legislative framework, relevant internal regulations and the existing capacities within the judicial system in the Republic of Serbia and needs for their functioning and improvement in discharge of duties.

Type of services provided

PROMAN provides the services of a procurement expert (junior) while B&S provides the rest of the team which comprises a team leader and a senior judicial expert, together they:

• Draft an inception report containing assessment of the regulatory and institutional setup in the area of intervention for the future technical assistance project, including an additional specific focus on training;
• Draft a final report prepared and submitted to the Contracting Authority;
• Draft a Terms of reference for the procurement of technical assistance for implementation of activities within the first component of Project Fiche; and
• Review the current state of play within the Serbian judiciary and of assistance related to justice/judiciary.

B&S Europe provides overall backstopping and quality control.