APELACIONI SUD - Judicial assistants

JUDICIAL ASSISTANTS

Position of judicial assistants, as well as other court staff, is regulated by the Law on Organization of the Courts and Law on Civil Servants.

Judicial assistant helps a judge, makes draft court decisions, analyses legal issues, court practice and legal literature, makes drafts of legal opinions, prepares adopted legal opinions for printing or performs other activities under supervision and instructions of a judge, as prescribed by the Court Rules of Procedure.

Judicial assistants receive the following titles: judicial associate (individual with bar exam), senior judicial associate (individual with bar exam and with minimum two years of experience in legal profession) and judicial advisor (individual who fulfills the conditions to become a judge of higher court). Position of judicial advisor exists only in the court on the Republic level.

Work of court assistants is evaluated once a year by court president, after receiving an opinion from the session of the department where that assistant is appointed, i.e. from judge or panel in case an assistant is not appointed to certain department. Marks are “unsatisfactory“, “satisfactory“, “stands out “and ‘stands out exceptionally“, and scope and quality of work, conscientiousness, ambition and publishing scientific and professional papers are considered. Senior judicial associate who received the mark “stands out exceptionally” at least two times in a row can become judicial advisor even if he/she does not fulfill conditions needed to become a judge of higher court.

Initial and permanent training of judges, public prosecutors and deputy public prosecutors, judicial and prosecutors’ assistants and interns, as well as training of judicial and prosecutorial staff are regulated by the Law on Judicial Academy.

Temporary rules on internal organization and job classification prescribe 88 positions for judicial assistants in the Court of Appeal in Belgrade.