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Serbia Reforms Commercial Courts with Automation
FrontLines - April 2009
By Jelena Bulatovic and David Kahrmann
Belgrade, Serbia—For more than a decade, turning to the commercial courts to enforce business laws in Serbia has not brought much satisfaction to plaintiffs.
A 2003 World Bank study found the Serbian Commercial Courts among the most inefficient
in the world. There was little or no automation of court filing or record keeping, ineffective
information gathering, sub-standard working conditions, and large backlogs of cases.
The outdated state of these courts—responsible for handling bankruptcy, enforcing rulings, and determining the validity of foreign court and arbitration decisions—also represented a real obstacle to economic development. 
USAID Mission Director Michael Harvey, left, watches a demonstration of the newly installed Case Management System in Zrenjanin, Serbia.
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USAID launched the Commercial
Court Administration Strengthening Activity in 2004 to instill confidence in potential investors. The program, which recently ended, provided technical
assistance to the commercial court system to process cases efficiently and transparently. USAID—together with the Serbian
Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the High Commercial
Court, and first-instance courts—has been working to improve the quality of court services
so that people on both sides of a petition can have full confidence
in the judicial system.
The program’s Case Management
System (CMS) tracks cases electronically, scans paper documents,
and provides information online. This relieves judges and court staff of outdated, manually kept registry books and paper files. Because the system randomly
assigns judges to cases, opportunities for collusion have been drastically reduced.
CMS was first introduced in Novi Sad and Belgrade in 2006 and 2007. Now, all 16 commercial
courts and the High Commercial Court are connected to the CMS network.
Nenad Stankovic, a lawyer with Joksovic, Stojanovic & Partners, gives the court enhancements
high marks. “Any filing made with a court is now immediately
recorded,” he said, “The judge, panel number, and fee amount are known as soon as the initial petition, complaint, or motion is made—all this has greatly contributed to the efficiency
and speed of court operation
and legal security. It has also helped to allay doubts [of corruption]
as judges are assigned cases in the order they are filed.”
Automation has also allowed for faster communication and the identification of weak areas that need to be addressed. CMS can generate reports on a daily basis, and allows court personnel to react to problems quickly.
At the same time, with online access to the case docket sheet, the public now has access to a listing of all case events occurring within a commercial court case, saving time for the parties involved as well as court staff since the information
is readily available.
“This system makes a vital contribution to bringing the Serbian Commercial Court System to international standards—
an efficient commercial court system is essential for a strong and dynamic economy,” said Michael Harvey, USAID director in Serbia.
“The CMS makes it easy to be on the move,” said Emir Jasarevic, a lawyer with JNP & Partners. “This is the best innovation
adopted by the Serbian judiciary in the past 20 years.”
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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