Report on Monitoring of Peer Elections for the High Judicial Council and State Prosecutors’ Council of the Republic of Serbia

This report is the result of joint efforts by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to monitor the nomination and election processes for peer elections of judges and prosecutors in Serbia to the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the State Prosecutors’ Council (SPC), respectively, conducted from October to December 2015. The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM), a Serbian nongovernmental organization, also served as an implementing partner. This monitoring was conducted in consideration of ongoing judicial and legal reform initiatives in Serbia as part of a broader National Justice Reform Strategy and ongoing reforms for accession to the European Union (EU). Activities included monitoring nomination processes (in selected courts and prosecutor’s offices), monitoring peer elections across Serbia, analyzing the underlying legal framework, and interviewing judges and prosecutors who participated in the process.