Fic rEcommEndationS - Eurobank EFG

As was the case with the last two editions of the White
Book, this 2011 edition is written in the light of a large
number of new laws that have been adopted by the Serbian
Parliament within the course of harmonisation of the
Serbian legal framework with the EU legislation.
In general, such intensive legislative activity has created
a legislative system which is overall well harmonised
with that of the EU. For example, a newly enacted Law
on Capital Market is in full compliance with the relevant
EU regulations. Several other important acts are being
drafted and enacted as well, including the new Company
Law, the new Law on Consumer Protection, the Law on
Enforcement and Security, the new Energy Law, the Law
on Public Notaries, etc. On the other hand, some of the
newly adopted laws contain certain provisions which are
not in line with the EU standards, the new Law on Insolvency
being a notable example.
However, in the White Book 2011 we have addressed several
issues and provided many recommendations whose
main aim is to improve the functioning of the legal system,
which in our opinion represents the backbone of a
good business environment.
Most of the chapters covered herein address the problem
of the lack of adequate bylaws. Namely, relevant bylaws
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LEGAL
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
are sometimes enacted long past due time – for example,
bylaws under the abovementioned Law on Consumer
Protection (rendered in October 2010) have not been enacted
yet. Furthermore, in certain cases, the by-laws, when
enacted, are not of sufficient quality to provide for proper
application of the law – for example, the Guidelines used
by the Commission for the Protection of Competition can
be deemed not completely satisfactory for the application
of complex anti-trust legislation, therefore creating a need
to look up the practice of the competent EU bodies such
as the European Commission, which is, unfortunately, seldom
done. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to experience
long delays in the foundation of a state body or
authority which is provided for by the new legislation. For
example, the National Council for Consumer Protection
has not been formed yet. The issues of capacity-building
and further specialisation of the public administration
and judiciary remain crucial.
To conclude, even though Serbian authorities have propelled
a wide-ranging legislative endeavour, formulating
and endorsing numerous laws ranging from those that
represent the regulatory milestones, to those that tackle
specific regulatory fields, there is still room for improvement.
Having said that, we hope that the further pace of
reforms will enable the successful execution of contemporary
legislation.