Supreme Court adopts legality protection request in Lovas case

Pursuant to its decision Kzz RZ 1/21 of 06 July 2021, the Serbian Supreme Court of Cassation adopted the Republic's Public Prosecutor's Request for the protection of  legality KTZ 556/21 of 02 June 2021, filed against the final judgment (Kž1-Pо2 2/20 of 20 October 2020), rendered by the War Crimes Department - part of the Appellate Court in Belgrade. The Supreme Court found that the Appellate Court's judgment had been in breach of articles 450 (6) re 236 (1), (3) re 239 (7) of the Criminal Procedure Code..

Acting upon the War Crimes Prosecutor's initiative, the Republic's Public Prosecutor filed the foregoing request. The Supreme Court found that in its second instance hearing in the Lovas case, the Appellate Court's War Crimes Department  had been under the obligation to apply the provisions on audio recording and accordingly on taking notes and preparing transcripts of the main hearing, all of which was supposed to be an integral part of the main hearing record. Having failed to do so, the Appellate Court's War Crimes Department had  acted in breach of its obligations prescribed by the aforementioned procedural provisions and consequently in breach of the law.

Hence the War Crimes Prosecutor's initiative subsequently accepted by the Republic's Public Prosecutor was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation, which found that by its failure to have the second instance hearing audio recorded and a relevant transcript made, the Appellate Court's War Crimes Department had acted in breach of the law.