11/02/2025
The strategy, within the framework of the European EU4IM project, will be developed by a Spanish magistrate.
Thanks to the European programme EU4IM: EU Support for Serbia’s internal market, judges specialised in competition law and intellectual property will be trained. The aim is for them to acquire up-to-date knowledge and serve as reference points and trainers for the rest of the judiciary. The aim is not only to provide technical insight, but also to raise awareness of the importance of and interest in the subject, especially when Serbia becomes part of the European Union.
Upgrading and improving the judiciary’s capacities to deal with such cases will have an impact on the effectiveness of enforcement, in particular on the Serbian Competition Protection Commission (CPC), project partner, the Intellectual Property Office and the institutions that make up the Coordination Body, a project-driven body for more effective protection of intellectual property rights, also with a competition mandate.
The training, based on case studies, will contain a series of pathways over two years for both institutions.
In the Serbian judicial system, the administrative courts hear competition cases in the first instance. The Court of Appeal or the Criminal Court also play a key role, both as higher instances and for dealing with specific competition and intellectual property infringements. In all of this, the Serbian Judicial Academy plays an important role of interlocution and coordination in the training pathways. In this way, the teachings, modules, cases and conclusions will remain in that institution for future training.
The EU4IM project aims to improve the country’s preparedness for EU accession by promoting the harmonisation of the Serbian market with the EU internal market. It aims to create an attractive environment for market operators by strengthening institutional capacities, digitising processes and raising awareness among Serbian citizens about the advantages of belonging to the EU internal market.
