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Extraordinary session of National Assembly (Sixth Extraordinary Session, Fourteenth Convocation) convened for January 14, 2026 — systemic judicial laws pushed through urgent pro…

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Extraordinary session of National Assembly (Sixth Extraordinary Session, Fourteenth Convocation) convened for January 14, 2026 — systemic judicial laws pushed through urgent procedure. Laws included: Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council; Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Seats and Jurisdictions of Courts; Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of State Authorities for Combating High-Tech Crime; Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Public Prosecution; Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Judges. Formal proponent: SNS MP Uglješa Mrdić (chair of Assembly Committee on Judiciary) — submitted by individual MP rather than Government to avoid public debate requirement. Key problematic provisions: extension of acting (ad interim) mandates in prosecution offices and courts (preserves regime-aligned temporary appointments); abolition of HPC commission responsible for objections to mandatory instructions (removes check on prosecution independence); amendments to high-tech crime prosecution unit framed as clarification but enabling control over its work. NKEU Chapter 23 Working Group (January 13, 2026): "This procedure is used extremely rarely and has never before been applied to systemic judicial laws, thereby undermining the role of the profession and institutions established precisely to protect the independence of the judiciary." "Had there been a genuine intention to consult the public and the professional community, the Committee could have organized a public hearing — such an option was clearly not in line with the objectives of the proponent." HJC had already issued negative opinion on draft Law on Judges (December 9, 2025). Timing: coincides with ongoing election of HJC and HPC members and atmosphere of intensified attacks on judges and prosecutors (SRB-077).
country
Serbia
date text
14/01/2026
entities
sources
  • citation
    NKEU Chapter 23 Working Group January 13 2026 statement (primary source — day before extraordinary session); HJC Opinion December 9 2025; Insajder December 22 2025 (Mrdić submits drafts)
tactics
narratives
campaign ids
campaign phase
Phase 4: Institutional Operationalization
channels
  • Official/Regulatory
civic response
NKEU Chapter 23 Working Group condemns January 13 2026; HJC negative opinion on Law on Judges December 9 2025; protests by judicial professionals including protest in front of Constitutional Court
consequence category
Legal/Administrative
created at
2026-09-24T17:50:55.358311+00:00
date precision
day
escalation
4
harm track
Track 1 — Legal/Administrative
id
SRB-080
institutional consequence
Systemic judicial laws amended under urgent procedure; acting mandates extended — regime-aligned temporary appointments preserved; HPC objection commission abolished; high-tech crime prosecution controllability increased; professional consultation bypassed
notes
EXECUTION PHASE of SRB-078 (judicial backup mechanism). The MP-as-proponent tactic is analytically important: using an individual parliamentarian rather than the Government specifically to avoid the mandatory public debate requirement. This is documented "legalistic capture" — using procedural rules to circumvent the spirit of the same rules. NKEU: first time urgent procedure used for systemic judicial laws. Timing is significant: coincides with HJC/HPC member elections (SRB-078) and judicial attack campaign (SRB-077) — three simultaneous tracks against judicial independence in January 2026. Cross-ref SRB-078 (backup mechanism structural enabler), SRB-077 (judicial attack campaign).
occurred on
2026-01-14
signal ids
trigger type
TR-02: Civic Mobilization
updated at
2026-09-24T17:50:55.358311+00:00
version
1

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