Following the adoption of the necessary amendments to the Law on the High Judicial Council, end of July 2021, on September 15, 2021 during its 19th regular session, the High Judicial Council (HJC) adopted the of the Board of Ethics of the High Judicial Council for which the draft was prepared by the Project experts. At the same time, the Rulebook of the High Judicial Council and the Code of Ethics for Judges have been adequately amended to comply with the said . The Project experts, together with the members of the HJC, actively participated in drafting and amending these accompanying acts.
By adopting the relevant amendments, the preconditions for the establishment of the Board of Ethics of the High Judicial Council were fulfilled. According to the Rulebook on Work, this body shall consists of seven judges, whereas retired judges may also be appointed, excluding members of the High Judicial Council and court presidents, as well as the Confidential Advisor. The members of the Board of Ethics were appointed by the HJC, while at the first constitutive session of this body, held on October 15 this year, the president, deputy president and confidential advisor of the Board of Ethics have been elected (ref. https://vss.sud.rs ).
The Board of Ethics provides general opinions and guidelines on breach of the Code of Ethics for Judges and the Code of Ethics for Members of the High Judicial Council. The Board of Ethics appoints one or more confidential advisors - from among its members, in order for them to carry out confidential consultations with judges, court presidents and the members of the HJC on the exercise of ethical principles and rules of conduct established by the said Codes of Ethics. When issuing the opinions, the Confidential Advisor is guided by the Code of Ethics for Judges, the Code of Ethics for Members of the High Judicial Council, the adopted opinions, guidelines and recommendations of the Board of Ethics, as well as other relevant documents related to judicial ethics and standards.