Conference on Establishing Efficieng Tools to Prevent and Fight Corruption in Serbia

held on 25 and 26 October in Belgrade

The international Conference on Establishing Efficient Tools to Prevent and Fight Corruption in Serbia was held in Belgrade on 25 and 26 October 2002. It gathered representatives from the Serbian and Federal Government, the international community and national and foreign experts.

Opening the conference, the Prime Minister Mr. Zoran Djindjic said that the government has made significants efforts in building control systems in order to fight corruption. He exposed the five elements of the governmental strategy to fight corruption: transparency in the performance of public functions, clear responsibilities of public officials, defined competencies of state bodies and agencies, possibility for all victims of corruption to seek assistance and, existence of repressive mechanisms.

Mr. Bozidar Djelic, Minister of Finance and Economy underlined in his address that a whole set of laws will contribute to preventing and suppressing corruption. These Laws are now either in preparation or have already been submitted to the Parliament. They include, a Tax Administration Law, a Law on Preventing Conflicts of Public and Private Interests in the Performance of Public Funcions and a Law on Financing Political Parties, etc. They come on top of adopted legislation on Budget System (Audit, Treasury), Public Procurement and new corruption offences in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia.

Mr. Mark Davison, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, stressed that the OSCE encourages a rapid adoption of legislative instruments prohibiting conflict of interest of public official and ensuring transparency of political party financing, and expressed the OSCE's support in establishing a centralised anti-corruption agency in Serbia.

In the first session, participants discussed the methods to enhance integrity and ethics within public administration. The following elements were identified as crucial in achieving this goal:

Regulatory measures - preparation of legislation that will establish a public administration operating in the interest of all citizens,
Education of the public administration's staff - in order to increase efficiency of the public administration, there is a need for permanent education of the civil servants. Economic independence of civil servants is also a precondition for high level of ethics in their work.

The participants discussed the definition of morals, ethics and responsibility in the light of civil servants' deontology. It was stated that a code of ethics in this area is not simply a means developed by the hierarchy in order to control the staff, but a means to protect civil servants both from their superiors and citizen-clients.

As regards the legislation on prevention of conflicts between private and public interests in performing public functions, it was noted that there is no unique model but that every country has specific requirements connected with its tradition and practice. It is necessary to streamline the law and clearly define its solutions (preventive or repressive) and the nature of the body to control the law' application (a part of the executive branch or an independent body). The issue of publication of information collected shall be regulated as well, while respecting citizen's rights and freedoms granted by the constitution.

The second session showed that the transparency of political financing is a key precondition for a democratic society. Representatives of different countries exchanged their experience and stated that closer co-operation and more intensive research in this area is necessary in order to achieve optimal solutions.

Participants agreed that the solutions contained in the Serbian draft Law on Financing Political Organisations are based on democratic principles. There were discussions ABOUT the means to ensure the law's effective implementation. It was stressed that the information ABOUT the revenue and expenditure of political organisations must at any moment be available to the public. The participants were also unanimous that it is necessary to regulate an independent and efficient mechanism to control the financial operations of political parties.

The third session provided the opportunity for an exchange of experiences aimed at improving equality of tenderers and transparency in public procurement. The examples and experiences from Poland, Slovenia and Montenegro pointed to difficulties that might arise in the application of the Serbian Law on Public Procurement that was passed in July 2002. It was clarified that one of the priorities of the recently established Administration for Public Procurement of the Republic of Serbia will be the drafting of by-laws.

Results from the World Bank Country Procurement Assessment Report on Yugoslavia, including recommendations for further ACTIVITIES, were presented (available on www.worldbank.org.yu).

During the fourth session, the participants discussed the need to set up a centralised body for fighting corruption in Serbia. Depending on the goal that is pursued, it is necessary to define whether this body would be of preventive, educational and/or operational nature.

A view was expressed that it is necessary to establish a body at the level of the Republic that would be concerned with the analysis and co-ordination of ACTIVITIES aimed at prevention and repression of corruption. This body would not have an executive function but would focus on education and prevention and also would analyse regulations and propose their amendments, while leaving room for the judiciary, public prosecutor's offices and police to perform their duties.

In each of these sessions, the discussions have permitted to get the picture of the current legislative situation and to discuss the best ways of implementation and amelioration. Follow-up projects will be considered with the support of the OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and other representatives of the international community.

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