PUBLIC PROSECUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the Public Prosecution is an autonomous state authority, which is in charge of the prosecution of perpetrators of criminal offences and other punishable acts and which undertakes measures for the protection of constitutionality and legality.

The General Public Prosecution is the highest Public Prosecution in the Republic of Serbia. The Prosecutor General exercises jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution within the scope of the rights and duties of the Republic of Serbia and is responsible for the work of the Public Prosecution and for his/her own work before the National Assembly. The Prosecutor General is not responsible for particular cases.

Chief Public Prosecutors are accountable for the work of the Public Prosecution and for their own work to the Prosecutor General and to the National Assembly, whereas lower-ranking Chief Public Prosecutors are also accountable to the immediately higher-ranking Chief Public Prosecutor.

The Public Prosecution system includes 90 Public Prosecutions: General Public Prosecution, 4 Appellate Public Prosecutions (in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac), 25 Higher Public Prosecutions, 58 Basic Public Prosecutions and 2 Public Prosecutions of special jurisdiction.

The Basic Public Prosecutions prosecute perpetrators of criminal offences which are punishable under law by imprisonment of up to 10 years, the Higher Public Prosecutions prosecute perpetrators of criminal offences which are punishable under law by imprisonment of more than 10 years and other criminal offences stipulated by the law, the Appellate Public Prosecutions file appeals, while the General Public Prosecution files extraordinary legal remedies and directs and oversees the work of all Public Prosecutions. Furthermore, there are specialized Prosecutions: Organized Crime Prosecution and the War Crimes Prosecution, which have been established for the entire territory of the Republic of Serbia. In addition, the Special Prosecution for Cybercrime, established at the Higher Public Prosecution in Belgrade, also has nation-wide jurisdiction in the cases within its subject-matter competence.

The General Public Prosecution monitors and directs the work of all Public Prosecutions and acts upon the extraordinary legal remedies before the General Court, as well as in the special proceedings before the Constitutional Court. The General Public Prosecution establishes a strategic framework for the actions of the Public Prosecution Offices, coordinates inter-agency and international cooperation, signs Memoranda of cooperation with foreign partners, domestic state bodies and civil society organizations, introduces specialization of work in the Public Prosecutions (such as special departments for suppression of corruption, contact points for international legal assistance, etc.), establishes inter-agency task forces, participates in the establishment of international joint investigation teams, issues general mandatory instructions to the Public Prosecutions and implements international projects related to the capacity building of the Public Prosecution.