Vucic announces a police 'cleansing' law, up to 2,000 officers facing dismissal

President Aleksandar Vucic announced on May 23, on Radio-Television of Serbia, the passing of a law removing from the Interior Ministry all officers who carry out tasks outside the official line of service for the benefit of private individuals. By his estimate given in the same broadcast, the mechanism would cover “perhaps two thousand people” who would have to leave the police immediately. The announcement came in response to the public debate over the arrest of the head of the Belgrade City Police Administration, Veselin Milic, and six suspects in the investigation into the Senjak case.

Vucic in the same address said the “problematic part of the whole story is that there were people in the security system protecting people from the underworld.” The president did not specify the legal basis or the timeframe for adoption, but said the text would be prepared “in the coming weeks” and that he expects a debate at a National Assembly session before the summer recess. Asked about resignations at the top of the Interior Ministry, Vucic said he supports Minister Ivica Dacic and Police Director Dragan Vasiljevic.

What lawyers and unions say about the proposal

Professor Goran Ilic of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, writing in the weekly Vreme on May 24, noted that a mechanism of mass removal from service without a criminal conviction could collide with Article 60 of the Constitution on the right to work. In his view, the only constitutional path would be individual disciplinary procedures with the right of appeal and judicial review. Ilic warned that a blanket removal of up to two thousand officers “could trigger a series of administrative disputes that would paralyse the Administrative Court.”

The president of the Police Trade Union of Serbia, Veljko Mijailovic, said on May 25 that the number of two thousand officers is “exaggerated” and that the proposed law, in the form announced, “would undermine the principles of legal security for the employees.” The union has demanded sight of the draft text before it reaches the government.

How the opposition reacted

The Party of Freedom and Justice, through Vice-President Marinika Tepic, judged that the announcement of the law represents “a deflection of attention from the question of the political responsibility of the Interior Ministry leadership.” Tepic stressed that Milic served five and a half years of his second term, which in her view means “the Interior Ministry leadership knew throughout that period what was happening.” The People’s Movement of Serbia, in a statement signed by Miroslav Aleksic, asked “why reform begins only after an arrest that could have been avoided with earlier measures.” The Green-Left Front demanded a public hearing and the release of the draft text before any submission to parliamentary procedure.

From Serbia Centre, party leader Zdravko Ponos, professionally a reserve colonel, told N1 that the announcement is “too vague and looks more like a political move than a legal reform.” For Ponos, the systemic problem at the Interior Ministry is not solved “by the number of those dismissed but by changing the procedures for appointment and internal oversight.”

From the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, spokeswoman Sandra Bozic confirmed that President Vucic informed the party leadership about the announcement and that “the text will be prepared in coordination with the Interior Ministry.” Prime Minister Djuro Macut, who consulted with Vucic at a May 21 government session, has not addressed the public on the details.

From the Ministry of Justice, headed by Minister Nenad Vujic, no response had arrived by the close of this text on whether the draft has been forwarded to a working group and whether it would apply retroactively to cases in the pre-trial phase. Under procedure, the draft would have to clear a government session, public consultation, and the relevant parliamentary committee before the plenary reading.

From the Party of Freedom and Justice, Vice-President Marinika Tepic argued that the government’s proposal should also include amendments to the Law on the Interior Ministry covering the appointment procedure for the heads of police administrations. In her view, the current procedure, which depends on a single decision by the minister and the police director without parliamentary scrutiny, “allowed Veselin Milic to take a second mandate in 2020 without any external filter.” The ruling coalition, through SNS parliamentary group leader Aleksandar Markovic, has not so far signalled openness to amendments in that section.

Will the Assembly session before June 25 deliver a draft law, or just an in-principle declaration?