The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights expresses its concern regarding the raid of the military police in the premises of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. The position of the military judiciary in the legal system of Serbia and Montenegro is totally unclear. Namely, Article 66 of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro has transferred the competencies of military courts and prosecutors to the organs of member states. Article 65 determines that member states should adapt their legislation to the Charter within 6 months. Article 24 of the Implementing Act of the Constitutional Charter provides that military judiciary will continue to exist until the adoption of a law provided for in article 66 of the Charter and mandates that this law should be past within 6 months. This law has not been adopted yet.Accordingly, the position of the military judiciary is unclear and conducive to legal insecurity. Furthermore, according to international human rights treaties binding on Serbia and Montenegro and directly applicable according to the Constitutional Charter, primarily according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to be tried by independent courts established by law. Military courts cannot be considered independent as their members being appointed and not elected. The independence of these courts remains jeopardised by many provisions of the old Military Courts Acts. The Belgrade Centre considers that such conduct introduces insecurity among citizens and harms the reputation of our country.
