Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I join previous speakers in thanking the European Commission and World Bank for organizing this important meeting.

The Soros Foundations Network has been active on the ground in Serbia and Montenegro throughout the last decade. Since 1991, our network has provided more than $100 million to projects in Serbia and Montenegro. This year, we will spend $10 million in grants. Of this sum, at least $5 million are allocated to structural reform that is part of the recovery and transition program presented today—in education, legal reform, the judiciary, and public administration.

I would like to say a few words about reform of the judiciary, in particular. Radical reform of the judicial system is the most urgent process needed now. Judicial reform is key to halting further criminalization of society. It is crucial for the success of privatization and de-nationalization. Without comprehensive reform, the judiciary will be unable to meet the challenges before us. Failure in this sector will spell disaster for Serbia and Montenegro, and for our neighbors.

Groundwork must be laid for new legislation on judges and courts, prosecution, the bar and judges’ exam, misdemeanors, constitutional and military courts. The Federal, Serbian and Montenegrin ministries of justice need resources to reorganize, operate more rationally, establish expert groups and build infrastructure that can accomplish monumental tasks in the shortest possible time.

Judges need to be retrained. A special training center should be established with curricula based on the continental European legal system. Of central importance is special training for prosecutors and their staff on war crimes and organized crime. Juvenile judges, prosecutors and police officers should also be taught how to treat victims of crimes such as trafficking, sexual violence and child abuse.

Immediate support is needed in justice administration and the enforcement of judgements. It is essential to link the entire judicial system to an information system. This includes the computerization of courts, as well as specialized training for judges and the courts’ staff. The conditions of detainees and prisoners need to improved. Current legislation on detention and imprisonment needs to be brought into synch with international standards of human rights.

Another crucial area of support is a temporary bridge fund to improve the financial situation of judges. In addition to all other employees in the judiciary, judges are poorly paid. This has contributed to their humiliation and has paved the way for corruption and inefficiency. Donors could provide a loan or grant to the state budget in order to provide a stipend for judges who enrol in retraining.