European Commission finds no progress on Serbia's judicial reform in annual report covering September 2024 to September 2025

The European Commission has concluded that Serbia made no progress on judicial reform over the past year, citing growing political pressure on courts and prosecutors. The finding comes from its annual report on Serbia's EU accession process, which covers developments from September 1 last year to September 1 this year.

The report says Serbia has a "some to moderate" level of preparation in the area of the judiciary. It adds that no substantive progress was recorded during the reporting period. According to the Commission, undue political pressure on the judiciary and the prosecution increased significantly and came through several institutional channels.

Pressure on prosecutors and judges

The Commission says concerns about the autonomy of prosecutors persist across the institutional framework. It calls on both top state authorities and the highest judicial bodies to counter these trends actively.

The report also states that Serbia has yet to show a genuine and unambiguous commitment to investigating and trying war crimes. It notes that the country still has to appoint a chief public prosecutor for war crimes on a permanent basis.

January amendments and the Venice Commission

The report recalls that in January the National Assembly amended several judicial laws under an urgent procedure, without a transparent and inclusive consultation process. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional law, later reviewed the changes. It found that the rapid amendments removed specific safeguards meant to protect prosecutorial autonomy and judicial independence.

Serbian authorities adopted further amendments and other measures in May and June. According to the report, the Venice Commission acknowledged that these steps addressed a considerable part of its recommendations. Two recommendations remain only partially implemented:

• structural reforms to strengthen the operational autonomy of the Special Prosecution Office for High-Tech Crime;
• an analysis of the re-mapping of the judicial and prosecutorial network.

Unfilled posts and case management

The Commission points out that a substantial number of judicial and prosecutorial posts remain vacant. This includes the remaining seats on the Constitutional Court, which have not been filled.

On technical capacity, the report says a case management system has been completed across prosecutors' offices. Serbia, however, still has no comprehensive, automated court case management system covering the entire judiciary.

Recommendations from last year not met

According to the report, several recommendations from the previous year have not been fulfilled:

• full implementation of the Venice Commission's guidance on judicial and prosecutorial legislation;
• appointment of judges and prosecutors strictly in accordance with the law;
• prioritizing the long-overdue vacancies on the Constitutional Court.

The Commission stresses the urgent need to reduce political interference in the work of courts and prosecutors. It asks the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council, the Government and the National Assembly to protect judicial independence and prosecutorial autonomy from external influence effectively and proactively.

It also advises Serbia to make its uniform, centralized case management systems operational and to improve the efficiency of the justice system. In particular, it calls for reducing backlogs and case disposition times at the Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court, and for full implementation of the human resources and ICT strategies.

The judiciary falls under the rule of law requirements that form a central part of Serbia's EU accession negotiations. Further steps depend on how Serbian institutions respond to the Commission's recommendations.