On 10 September 2020, a Bylaw on Police Powers was discussed with representatives of various structures within the Ministry of Interior in a meeting in Belgrade and coordinated online by a Council of Europe international consultant.
At the request of the Ministry of Interior, the Council of Europe provided expert assessment on the Serbian Bylaw on Police Powers. It examined the compatibility of the provisions of the Bylaw with the Council of Europe and other international standards and provided recommendations in this regard, such as, inter alia…. developing guidelines that regulate in detail the process of interrogation, as well as establishing special safeguards for treatment of vulnerable groups, in particular persons with mental health impairment.
The meeting aimed at presenting this assessment report and to collect the feedback of the representatives of the Ministry of Interior. The discussion created fruitful ground for future Council of Europe work on human rights-based legislation improvement.
Final assessment with recommendations for improvement of the Bylaw will be drafted and submitted to the authorities for swift consideration.
This activity was organised by the EU and Council of Europe Joint Project “Enhancing Human Rights Protection for Detained and Sentenced Persons in Serbia”, Phase II (Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II), which is designed to support the Serbian authorities in ensuring the implementation of the key European standards and assists further progress in the European integration process.