The Judicial Academy, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Serbia (UNHCR), organized the first annual round table on the topic of asylum in Serbia on October 2 and 3, 2024, in the premises of the Fruška Terme hotel in Vrdnik.

Participants were representatives of all institutions involved in the asylum procedure (representatives of relevant ministries, non-governmental organizations that provide legal protection, judges and advisers of the Administrative Court) as well as representatives of the scientific community (University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and University of Novi Sad).

Sufijan Ađali, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Serbia, Nenad Vujić, director of the Judicial Academy, judge Radojka Marinković, president of the Administrative Court, and Dragan Samolovac, head of the Border Police Administration, gave opening remarks. The round table was moderated by Ljubimka Mitrović, head of the legal service of the UNHCR representative office in Serbia.

The topics of the round table were protection and national security, the current situation and the asylum procedure in Serbia - challenges and opportunities, integration and the rights of refugees - challenges and opportunities, national security and persons seeking international protection, effective legal remedies and the asylum procedure.

The practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, relevant standards of international human rights law in the area of ​​asylum and UNHCR standards and principles were presented through short presentations by Massimo Frigo and Emily Rozier from the UNHCR representative office in Serbia. 

During the discussion, the topics of problems in practice and disputed legal issues regarding reports on the security assessment of asylum seekers, translation in the asylum procedure, work problems, examples of good practice (such as the program of cultural integration of asylum seekers, securing employment and accommodation in Serbia), as well as and about opportunities for further professional training and spaces for improving intersectoral cooperation and dialogue.

The Judicial Academy, through the activities of the Network of Schools and partnership cooperation with UNHCR, will continue to work on the professional development of holders of judicial functions. 

On July 13, 2023, the Judicial Academy, as one of the members and partners, signed the Agreement on cooperation in the promotion and encouragement of interdepartmental professional training in state and other bodies. The round table is only the first of joint activities both on the topic of asylum and in other areas of law.