30 September 2023
A webinar on the topic: “Challenges for ensuring the Rule of Law in the EU and candidate countries” took place in online form via Webex platform on 30 September 2023. The Webinar was organised by the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law together with the Central European Professors’ Network under the auspices of the Central European Academy. The speakers at the Webinar were Associate Professor Maja Lukić Radović and Teaching Assistant and PhD candidate Marija Vlajković, both from the Department of International Law and International Relations at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. Participants were master students, PhD students as well as members of the Academia and the civil society sector. Marija Vlajković was the moderator, and she opened the event by introducing the importance of the topic for the overall legal and political situation in the European Union. In addition, she briefly talked about the Rule of Law as a foundational criterion for the accession of candidate countries such as the Republic of Serbia. She announced that, in cooperation with Professor Dr Maja Lukić Radović who is the main organiser of the event, another series of events will be organised for a much wider audience.
After introductory remarks by both speakers, Professor Lukić Radović took the floor and presented her topic “The Interaction Between the Rule of Law, Fundamental Rights and Supremacy of EU Law”. She first spoke about the principles of the European legal order which constitute the pillars of EU constitutionality. Then, she continued to analyse the importance of the Rule of Law value in the EU legal setting including the treaties, case-law as well as current acts of EU institutions which are of utmost relevance for the Rule of Law protection. Furthermore, Lukić Radović talked about the principle of supremacy of the EU law, which was affirmed by the CJEU in some of its most prominent and earliest decisions, focusing on the fact that it allowed the European Union to develop, in the legal-constitutional sense, and consequently, in the political sense as well. Secondly, she drew the attention of the audience to the importance of fundamental rights’ protection, the role of the Charter and the evolution of the case-law regarding fundamental rights. Maja Lukić Radović explained that due to the fact that these principles and values are based on moral grounds, cultural, historical forces and traditions that lead to their conceptualisation, the debate on their implementation, reinforcement, crisis or even backsliding has always been active. One of the key points in her presentation was to underline the internal and external aspects that influence the way the rule of law, fundamental rights and the supremacy of EU law are understood, emphasising that both their internal and external components are equally important for their universal implementation as legal and political concepts. She concluded her presentation by underlining that whether the said principles and values counterbalance the principle of supremacy of EU law, or they form an essential element of the EU identity and thus a complement to supremacy, they are, and should form the basis of the EU legal order, including the application of both EU internal and external integration policies.
The presentation of Marija Vlajković followed next. She presented the topic that dealt with the legal and constitutional reforms that were motivated by the Europeanization process with special emphasis on the EU integration process, in both candidate country (Serbia) and a Member State (Estonia). This presentation was an extract of the Chapter that Marija Vlajković wrote with her colleagues from the University of Tartu, Katre Luhamaa and Merike Ristikivi for the Book titled “Law, Culture and Identity in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Engagement”, edited by Cosmin Cercel, Alexandra Mercescu, Mirosław Michał Sadowski that will be published by a renown publishing house Routledge. Marija Vlajković explained that in her analysis the primary focus was on the internationalisation or the “outside influence” on the legal culture of these two countries during the transition of the said two countries. She underlined the contribution and impact of experts and countries, regions, and international organisations that were invited or came by themselves to give legal advice to legislators during the transition to democracy as well as during the integration into the EU. Marija Vlajkovic explained that Serbia is, as a candidate country, currently in the EU integration process. In 2006, the Republic of Serbia adopted the Constitution, which introduced Article 1 that defines the state and, for the first time, underlines its “commitment to European principles and values.” In addition, she underlined that Serbia is currently undergoing constitutional changes and implementation of constitutional amendments that are guided by the Venice Commission and the EU Commission. Moreover, Marija Vlajković underlined that again that one of the most critical negotiating chapters is Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), which is monitored by both bodies and dictates the overall progress of the negotiation process. Overall, as Marija Vlajković claimed, the Europeanisation process, as part of the internalisation of European constitutions, is very dominant. She focused on the role of the Rule of Law principle in the legal reforms and constitutional amendments, as well as in the overall negotiation process of the Republic of Serbia.
After the two presentations, a discussion and a Q&A Session with the other participants and attendees were held. The questions that were raised tackled the enforcement of the CJEU judgments, the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, the legal value of the principles and values from the Treaty and, of course, the effectiveness of the Article 7 procedure. Finally, some comments also raised the issue of society’s transformation into civil democracies, and the effects of the Europeanization of constitutional principles and values in the internal legal systems.
The Webinar was wrapped up with closing remarks by Marija Vlajković who thanked all the participants for a fruitful discussion and Professor Maja Lukić Radović who again announced a round table that will deal with EU and international actualities, that will be organized at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law in December 2023 and will gather members of both Academia and practice.
