Improving access to justice and strengthening the provision of free legal aid is one of the major challenges Serbia is facing in the process of modernizing Serbia’s justice sector to meet the European Standards.

Currently, Serbia does not have a comprehensive mechanism in place that would adequately ensure the provision of free legal aid for those needing it the most: The poor, national minorities and different marginalized and vulnerable groups. Judicial services are beyond the reach of many Serbians due to a lack of financial resources, limited access to education and scarcity of relevant information about available services and citizens’ rights.

The situation is especially serious among Serbia’s Roma community which remains the most disadvantaged minority group in Serbia. Refugees also struggle to bring their cases to the courts. Gender inequalities are also increasingly prevalent in Serbia’s justice sector – lack of understanding of their own rights keep many women from seeking help from the formal justice system.

Access to justice and free legal aid are basic human rights which are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Right and the Serbian Constitution.

The Government of Serbia, as part of its efforts to expedite justice sector reforms to meet the criteria set by the EU for an eventual membership in the Union, is determined to take resolute measures to improve the legal aid system in Serbia and expand its coverage among the poor and marginalized.

To this end, the Ministry of Justice is currently developing a strategy and the necessary legislation to guide the reform efforts, with the overall objective to develop a financially and socially sustainable mechanism that will allow the provision of free legal aid to everyone in Serbia who is entitled to it.

Serbia’s development partners have offered their financial assistance and expert advice to the Ministry of Justice to support Serbia in developing a modern legal aid system that fully complies with the European Standards.

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), a long-standing supporter of Serbia’s justice sector modernization and EU accession efforts, has made a total amount of 26 million of Swedish Krona (approximately 2,5 million EURO) available to support the Government’s objectives.

Sida’s financial contribution to the Serbian Government is channeled through the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support (MDTF-JSS), a multi-lateral initiative to advance justice sector reforms and modernization in Serbia.

The MDTF-JSS, comprising contributions from Serbia’s development partners, is administered by the World Bank and jointly executed by the Ministry of Justice and the World Bank.

In addition to providing financial support, the MDTF-JSS also aims at strengthening coordination between the Ministry of Justice, other justice sector institutions such as the courts and prosecutors, the European Commission, Serbia’s development partners and the civil society.

Besides Sweden, the MDTF-JSS contributors include Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom