Balkan Legal News - 20 September 2024
- Sep 19, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 10, 2024
The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 12 September 2024 to 19 September 2024.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
North Macedonia – 18 September 2024
Constitutional Court temporarily bans hires in the public sector based on ethnic quotas, pending a final decision on the constitutionality of the 'Balancer' mechanism used for the last ten years; see here.
Bosnia – 17 September
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ministry of Defense is negotiating the purchase of six Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkish defence contractor Baykar, Bosnian and Turkish media reported last week; see here.
Bosnia – 17 September 2024
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out a periodic visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2 to 13 September 2024. This was the CPT’s tenth visit to the country; see here.
Croatia/Romania – 17 September 2024
Croatia and Romania accounted for the most significant increase when it comes to the number of work permits granted to foreigners from outside the European Union countries in 2022 compared to 2013, according to a survey provided by Monitor Social; see here.
Bulgaria – 16 September 2024
A member of a group of international activists who were arrested while trying to aid distressed migrants on the Bulgarian-Turkish border said the border police abused and threatened them; see here.
Serbia – 16 September 2024
Belarus filmmaker Andrej Hniot, and critic of the Minsk’s authoritarian government, handed a letter to the Serbian presidency signed by hundreds of artists appealing against his extradition to his home country, where he says he faces being tortured and killed; see here.
Serbia – 16 September 2024
Three Romani minors who allege they were kidnapped, racially abused, and tortured by the owners of a petrol station in the village of Grebenac are receiving legal support from a lawyer provided by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in the ongoing criminal case against their abusers; see here.
Serbia – 13 September 2024
Serbia has demanded that an election be held and ethnic Serbs return to police and judiciary in a Serb-populated northern region of Kosovo where tensions have fuelled fears of instability and new armed clashes; see here.
Balkans – 13 September 2024
The European Union Coast Guard and Border Agency (Frontex) has reported a major decrease in the number of irregular border crossings along the Balkan Route. At least 12 people have died while trying to cross the Drina river that forms part of the border between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina; see here.
Serbia – 12 September 2024
A Serbian court will open proceedings on September 12 in the country’s first publicly documented case of sex trafficking involving Chinese nationals; see here.
Croatia – 12 September 2024
Foreign workers in Croatia will soon be able to enjoy more rights as the country has decided to amend some of the rules that currently apply to those participating in its labour market; see here.
