Publications

This Handbook focuses on the importance of investigative phase of the criminal procedure, at the same time pointing out potential flows in legal framework related to investigation, specifically Article 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Namely, legislator focuses only on legal definition of the investigation, neglecting its criminalistics aspects. Primary purpose of this Handbook is to provide comprehensive guidance in the field of criminalistics, thus enabling public prosecutors to accomplish their primary task of detecting and prosecuting criminal offenders. The publication is available in Serbian only.

An analysis of current status of the co-operation, co-ordination, and communication between the Prosecution and Judicial Police in Albania in order to establish the existing normative, professional and behavioural problems and to make recommendations for short-term action and long-term strategies

The survey ‘Barometer of Equal Opportunities’, developed by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, explores the perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and awareness of discrimination and inequality of the public at large. It also makes a comparative analysis of results of the three surveys conducted in 2009, 2013 and 2018, and provides an insight into the direction and intensity of changes of perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and awareness of discrimination and inequality in the country in the period from 2009 to 2018. The report examines replies of men and women regarding discrimination on seven grounds- gender, ethnicity, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation and political affiliation.

This collection of papers by criminal law experts covers one of the most important issues in criminal proceedings – securing the presence of the defendant. The publication is available in Serbian language only and provides an comprehensive overview of regional legal framework in this area, deals with the mechanisms of protection of the rights of the accused, analyses the vast array of available measures for securing the presence of the defendant, and outlines best practices in this area.

This publication focuses on the principle of opportunity, and the challenges in its application, mainly related to the non-uniformity of practice of public prosecution offices in Serbia. The intention of the authors was to provide guidelines for the unified application of the principle, and to fulfil the main task of deferred prosecution- to achieve the purpose of the punishment without conducting criminal proceedings in cases when this is not necessary or expedient, taking into account public interest. This Manual was drafted by the Working Group formed by the Republic Public Prosecutor's Office, and supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. The publication is available in Serbian only.

The Guidelines for improving court practice in compensation proceedings for victims of serious crime in criminal proceedings have been developed by the Supreme Court of Cassation Working Group, with support from the OSCE Mission to Serbia throught the project “Support for Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Serbia”, implemented by the OSCE Mission and financed by the European Union. The Guidelines point out to the competent authorities’ obligation to decide on compensation within criminal proceedings, they provide answers to questions relating to determining the damage, types of non-material damage, as well as determining the amount of monetary compensation, and they emphasize the importance of informing victims about their rights. Available in Serbian only.

The bulletin is a summary of information obtained from the first instance courts in relation to discrimination cases, and from the annual reports of the Anti-discrimination Commission, and the Ombudsman Institution from 2018. It provides data on cases of discrimination and activities of the state institutions and civil society organizations in the field of prevention and protection against discrimination, and it also provides the institutions with recommendations for improvement of the current situation. Not available in English.

This report provides the results from a survey of hate crime victimization carried out in North Macedonia in June and July 2018. The survey, first of this kind carried in the country, presents a more comprehensive account of hate crime victimization in North Macedonia and its impact that had been available to date, as well as identifies the extent of underreporting of hate incidents by surveying a range of different communities of majority and minority social identity on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and political beliefs. The report aims at offering evidence as to the need to develop effective measures that respond to and combat the problem, guide targeted policy and strategy by national and local authorities, and support civil society organizations in their advocacy work.

The research presents a comprehensive analysis of  the quality of educational services provided by law schools, as evidenced by the results of the national unified entrance exam for Master of Law and Master of International Law programmes in 2018; the ability of law schools to develop educational

This paper offers analysis and recommendations for building a more inclusive justice system in the OSCE region, drawing on results of a needs assessment study carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in 2017. The study, which relied on both desk-based research and the collection of field data, was structured around two separate but interlinked themes: a) gender and diversity among justice system actors, in terms of recruitment and selection of a diverse workforce and ensuring workplace equality; and b) the effects of gender and diversity among justice system actors on the fairness of outcomes, as perceived by end users of justice systems. This paper outlines specific challenges identified by the needs assessment study and highlights some of the good practice solutions used to address them.