A two-day international Conference, co-organized by the Prosecutors Association of Serbia and the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment, begins today (Thursday, October 29) at the Hotel Metropol. More than 30 prosecutors from various European countries, as well as representatives from both organizations, the High Prosecutorial Council, the Embassy of Sweden, the Embassy of the Netherlands and the OSCE Mission attended the Conference.
Even the main topic of the Conference, “Improving the Prosecution of Environmental Crime: Cooperation, Expertise and Best Practices in Europe,” is dedicated to environmental crime, the new social and political circumstances in Serbia following the victory of the Student List in the snap parliamentary elections are also mentioned in the introductory segment.
Speaking of this, Lidija Komlen Nikolić, President of the Presidency of the Prosecutors Association of Serbia (PAS), stated that society in Serbia is currently on the threshold of change, and whether these changes can be implemented so quickly will depend on public prosecutors and their efficiency.
This Conference is also an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of PAS work.
“For 25 years, the Prosecutors Association has advocated for the independence, as well as the personal and professional integrity of prosecutors. I expect prosecutors now to fully demonstrate these qualities in their work,” added Komlen Nikolić, noting that the numerous environmental issues to which citizens responded were among the reasons of the civic activism that ultimately led to political changes in Serbia.
During the opening session of the conference, Jasmina Stanković—a Public Prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and an elected member of the High Prosecutorial Council—addressed her colleagues, emphasizing that the right to a healthy environment is a human right and that environmental crime is a global problem.
Rob de Rijck, President of the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment, stated that the fight for environmental protection is not a “left-wing hobby,” but also a human right, crucial to our life.
Charlotte Sammelin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden—a country that supports the PAS project “Greening Justice: Legal Protection of the Environment”—pointed out that environmental protection is not a question of legislation and ecology, but also a matted of the rule of law. “Environmental crime has real consequences for people’s lives, damages ecosystems and natural resources, and represents a comprehensive transnational issue,” she said.
Martijn Elhersma, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands spoke about the rule of law is a base of a democratic society and noted that the Netherlands has a long-standing cooperation with the professional Prosecutors Association of Serbia.
“Speaking of pre-accession negotiations and rule of law, we are consistently the most critical oriented towards Serbia, as we place a strong emphasis on it. I am pleased to see that the rule of law matters to the citizens of Serbia and that they desire improvements in this area,” said the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Mauro Puzzo, Head of the Rule of Law and Human Rights Department at the OSCE Mission to Serbia, noted that environmental crimes are becoming a significant issue across Europe; they impact public health and the economy, and very often constitute a form of organized crime.
Following this, three thematic panels were held as part of the conference.
The first one, which focused on the status of Public Prosecutors and their independence in the prosecution of environmental crimes, featured speakers including Dr. Goran Ilić, a Public Prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office; Mariarosaria Guglielmi, President of MEDEL and European Prosecutor for Italy; Predrag Milovanović, an elected member of the High Prosecutorial Council; and Jean-Philippe Rivaud, Vice-President of the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment.
The second thematic panel, moderated by Dr. Svetlana Nenadić, Chair of the PAS Management Board, focused on specific cases from the legal practice of ENPE, as well as those from Sweden, Italy, and other countries. Speakers included Lars Magnusson, ENPE Vice-President for International Relations and Senior Public Prosecutor at the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s National Unit for Environmental Crimes; Pietro Mollino, a prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office of Italy; and Dr. Luisa Corlat from the Academy of European Law.
This panel focused on issues related to the collection of evidence, digital evidence, and the links between environmental crime and organized crime.
Practical challenges in investigating these criminal offenses were discussed by Branislava Vučković, President of the PAS Assembly; Prof. Dr. Vladimir Živanović and Dr. Nebojša Atanacković from the Faculty of Mining and Geology at the University of Belgrade; and David Smith, Head of the Legal Department at the Irish Environmental Protection Agency.
On Friday, the second day of the Conference, Serbian Prosecutors from Subotica, Vranje, and Pančevo, as well as their collegues from Greece, the Czech Republic, and Romania, along with representatives of local civil society organizations will take part at the conference.
Participants of the Conference also watched a short film about the 25-year history of the PAS, in which the founders discussed the reasons behind its establishment as well as the legacy of the Association.
