Stefanovic Files Disciplinary Complaint Against Stamenkovic
Belgrade's chief higher public prosecutor says an Oversight Commission member breached the Code of Ethics with remarks on a parallel prosecution. It is his second move against the Commission.
Nenad Stefanovic, chief prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, filed a complaint on November 12, 2026 with the disciplinary prosecutor of the High Prosecutorial Council against Branko Stamenkovic, a public prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and a member of its Oversight Commission. The full text of the complaint with attachments was published on beograd.vjt.rs, and it was prompted by Stamenkovic’s statements about the so-called parallel prosecution system in the Belgrade prosecutor’s office.
What Stefanovic accuses Stamenkovic of
The complaint states that Stamenkovic “committed a serious disciplinary offense with his inappropriate and immoderate statements to the media in the previous period.” It cites two statements: one from November 10, 2026 in Belgrade, which several media outlets carried in full, and another from the “Interview of the Day” show on Insajder television on November 2, 2026.
Stefanovic argues that Stamenkovic violated four principles of the Code of Ethics for public prosecutors: impartiality, dignity, legality and accountability. The presumption of innocence is mentioned under legality, because Stamenkovic, the complaint says, voiced a personal opinion that prosecutors of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office should face criminal liability. The complaint also faults him for prejudging the outcome on the basis of his own checks, although only a competent body can establish failures, and the complaint says the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office Commission is not such a body, still less one of its members. The complaint does not name the specific articles of the Code.
It describes Stamenkovic’s statements as “non-legal and obviously political and vindictive” and sees in them an “undisputed motive of revenge and revanchism.” It points to frequent targeting in the media and on social networks, both of the chief prosecutor and of individual prosecutors named in the report.
What Stamenkovic said
Stamenkovic told the weekly Vreme:
“One of the conclusions of this first report, which is part of the future large report, is that the chief public prosecutor in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanovic, created a para-prosecutorial, parallel prosecutorial organization. A prosecutor’s office that practically answered to no one and paid no heed to the legal provisions on hierarchy and lawfulness of work.”
Stamenkovic also judged that Stefanovic had full political backing to do this. The Commission’s report, published on November 10, states a suspicion that Stefanovic abused his powers in six cases: “Sound Cannon,” the search of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Rectorate, “Pardons,” the criminal complaint filed by Visto Rico’s attorney, the injuring of students on Yuri Gagarin Street in New Belgrade, and an incident at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. The Commission is sending it to the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office for further action.
Stefanovic’s second move against Commission members
The disciplinary complaint against Stamenkovic follows a criminal complaint against Commission chair Goran Ilic, which Stefanovic filed with the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office almost immediately after the report was published. It accuses him of abuse of office under Article 359, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, combined with obstruction of justice under Article 336b, paragraph 2. According to the complaint, Ilic entered Stefanovic’s office on October 30, two days after the Commission gained access to the premises of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office on October 28, and demanded that he submit an irrevocable resignation.
Retired prosecutor Jasmina Paunovic told Danas that, as far as she knew, attorney Ivan Ninic had filed a criminal complaint with the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office against all the prosecutors who worked on the cases covered by the report.
Asked about the report by Danas, Stefanovic answered briefly: “The response will be as it has been so far, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Serbia.” The same day he told Newsmax Balkans television that the Belgrade prosecutor’s office is being targeted and that “a kind of legal violence” is taking place these days. He added: “The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has had a problem with unfilled staffing for years.” He blamed the obstruction of Supreme Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac and the High Prosecutorial Council. He also said that 19,151 cases were opened in 2025, that about three quarters were resolved, and that 4,333 remained unresolved.
Stamenkovic had not responded to the complaint at the time of publication, and the disciplinary prosecutor of the High Prosecutorial Council has not yet said how it will proceed.
