It is very important to have cooperation between the executive government and the judiciary in the segment of gathering enough solid evidence with which the prosecution will go to court. That is the most difficult part of the job
The fight against organised crime is an essential need for this society, but we must always be careful when discussing it. It is good that the Government of the Republic of Serbia has also proclaimed this, but I’m now speaking as a lawyer, so I must emphasise that the role of the Government in that situation is important but not crucial. Specifically, the Government of Serbia cannot make arrests or order investigations. That is done by the prosecutor’s office, with the Ministry of the Interior acting on the orders of the prosecutor’s office. Ultimately, the key is in the courts, because that’s where judgements are made.
So, cooperation between the executive government and the judiciary is very important in the segment where the Interior Ministry, in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office, gathers sufficiently strong evidence with which the prosecutor’s offices will go to court. This is the most difficult part of the job, because if you don’t have strong enough evidence that has been collected in a legally prescribed manner, then you can’t expect the courts to make judgements that the public might want.
I Believe deeply that the state will not abandon this fight, but I think there must be a cleansing of criminal associates within the system… They run as deep as you like to delve
What is proof to a layman isn’t necessarily also proof for the court. We often hear various stories about some events that essentially became public secrets and we all know that they happened, but we don’t have solid evidence proving that it was done by the person who is publicly mentioned as the perpetrator of that crime. In such instances the court cannot make the decision that the public would like, and then sticks and stones are thrown at to the judges. That’s why prosecutors must be cautious down to the most minute detail and must collect all the evidence in accordance with the law, in order for them to appear before the court with something that’s certain.
I believe deeply that the state will not abandon this fight, but I think there must be a cleansing of criminal associates within the system. Unfortunately, they run as deep as you like to delve. Only then will we be able to say for certain that the state has commenced a serious showdown.
