Inquiry Commission: Retroactive clauses in General Staff law designed to grant amnesty for crimes

The Commission warned that this clause creates a legal loophole to grant amnesty to those who committed crimes such as forging documents and the illegal removal of heritage protections.

“The entire process is tainted. There is no doubt that this law originated within the Government and was handed over to MPs (of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, led by Milenko Jovanov) to obscure its true intent, and that is to ensure an amnesty effect for ministers who are currently, or may soon be, under investigation regarding this project. To avoid the Government proposing its own immunity, they have tasked MPs with sponsoring the bill,” said Tanasije Marinkovic, a professor at the University of Belgrade Law School.

Former Constitutional Court President Vida Petrovic Skero agrees with this assessment.

“By violating the principle of the separation of powers, the legislature has declared the 2005 decision, which designated the General Staff as a cultural monument, null and void. We now have a law with retroactive effect claiming the building never had protected status in the first place. This is a clear attempt to eliminate the criminal liability of those accused of forgery,” she said.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) recently filed indictments against Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic, as well as several high-ranking officials: Goran Vasic, acting director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments; Aleksandar Ivanovic, acting director of the City Institute; and Slavica Jelaca, acting secretary in the Ministry of Culture.