EWMI’s Separation of Powers Project in Serbia is active in supporting efforts to make the administration of justice in Serbia more efficient and responsive to the needs of the users of the courts. A core component of this work is to improve the professionalism of court management through the creation of a court administrator position. After extensive work during the last two years, the position has been created under the designation of “Court Manager.” In July 2010, Serbia got its first Court Manager. Mr. Zoran Aleksic was hired as the Court Manager of the Higher Court in Belgrade.

Mr. Aleksic has 10 years of managerial experience working as the Director of Joint Services in the Belgrade District Court. During 2009 and 2010 he distinguished himself as one of the most prominent members of SPP’s Working Group for Court Administration. In his new position, Mr. Aleksic will be responsible for the management of all financial and administrative aspects of the court’s work. The Higher Court in Belgrade is one of the largest and complex courts in Serbia. It occupies three different buildings, and includes the Special Departments for Organized Crime and War Crimes.

In consultation with SPP, the Ministry of Justice has approved court manager positions for 11 other large and important courts: all four Appellate Courts, the Higher Court of Nis, Basic Courts in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Commercial Appellate Court and Commercial Court in Nis, and the Higher Misdemeanor Court and Misdemeanor Court in Belgrade. Court managers will be appointed to these courts in late 2010 and early 2011. As these new managers are hired, SPP will assist efforts to enhance their professionalism by organizing trainings on court management in cooperation with the Judicial Academy.