The Serbian Parliament adopted laws on judges and prosecutors on Thursday as well as other judiciary laws required to amend the constitution.

The laws were adopted at the last moment under the law which says they had to be passed exactly one year after the Bill on Constitutional Amendments took effect on February 9, 2022.

Parliament adopted laws on the High Judiciary Council, Court and Judges, the High Council of Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors. MPs also passed amendments to the law on organizing and jurisdiction of state bodies to fight high-tech crime, law on jurisdiction in war crimes cases, on jurisdiction in combating organized crime, terrorism and corruption and amendments to the law on the Constitutional Court.

Justice Minister Maja Popovic told MPs that the laws are intended to remove politics from the judiciary by moving the election of judges and prosecutors from parliament to the High Judiciary Council and High Council of Prosecutors.

Opposition MPs said that the laws just alter the form of political interference with dubious criteria for election.