Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has voted on the referendum on the amendment to the Constitution regarding judiciary, at the polling station in the Eight Belgrade High School.
After exercising her constitutional and democratic right, Joksimović has conveyed that today is an important day for democracy and the rule of law in Serbia, and has invited all citizens to use their right to vote.
According to her, these are not elections before the elections or a political matter, as some claimed during the referendum campaign.
“This is an important issue for all Serbian citizens, this is the issue of how we regulate our society towards the best democratic standards, particularly regarding the judiciary and the rule of law”, noted Joksimović.
She has stressed that it is exactly what interests every citizen – that, if they have an interest, a problem or any issue before the judicial authorities, if they need access to justice and fairness, they can be certain that they will be treated in exactly the same way as any other Serbian citizen.
“Equal access to justice and fairness – that is achieved and that is a standard not only in the EU, but also beyond. It is a democratic standard to remove politics and political decision-making from the third, judicial branch of government”, said Joksimović.
According to her, recent days have shown how important it is for courts to be independent, to not make decisions based on political influence.
She has noted that the judicial reform of 2009 created room for political influence on the judiciary, stressing that today’s opponents of the amendments are precisely the people who conducted that reform, which weakened that state’s fight against corruption and organised crime.
“By voting ‘Yes’ today, we are correcting that, and I think that is in the interest of every citizen. This is not some sort of party commitment, this is a commitment to putting ourselves neck and neck with the countries that have the most democratic way of regulating judicial and prosecutorial appointment”, stated the Minister.
Joksimović has added that it will guarantee independence and autonomy in decision-making and treatment, which will strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
She has further said that the constitutional amendments in the area of judiciary are important for European integration as well, noting that this is not something Serbia must do only for the sake of European integration.
“We’ve entered this process a long time ago, we’ve sought the best solutions, looking for the way to improve the rule of law, so anyone who says they are against it, I don’t know what they are against – against the rule of law, against strengthening democratic institutions”, stated the Minister.
Joksimović has reiterated that today is an important day for Serbia, and has invited citizens to use their right to vote.
“With this personal act, by voting ‘Yes’, we contribute to introducing in our country everything that already exists in well-regulated countries”, concluded Joksimović.
Source: Tanjug
