Novi Sad, 14 October - A two-day regional scientific conference “Legal Norms and Adequacy of Environmental Protection - Two Years Later” started today at the Assembly of AP Vojvodina. It was organised by the Serbian Association for Criminal Law and Practice, in cooperation with the Faculty of Law, University of Novi Sad, Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, Bar Association of Vojvodina, Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection and AP Vojvodina Assembly.
While opening of the conference and expressing how excited he was for the AP Vojvodina Assembly to, once again, be the host of such an important expert gathering, president of AP Vojvodina Assembly Bálint Juhász said the current situation in the field of environmental protection was not most favourable, adding that constant joint efforts were required to improve it in many areas.
“There are two key aspects. The first one concerns the enormous amount of GHG gases emitted every year to the atmosphere by the mankind, and the trend is only increasing. The second aspect is the ideal we are all striving to achieve, which is to reduce these gases”, Juhász said, emphasising that we should not respond to problems only after they had occurred, nor should we diminish them.
“Environmental crime is often perceived as minor offence, instead of a serious crime against our future”.
A mere introduction of environmental crimes in the criminal legislation is not a guarantee of the adequate level of criminal legal protection. Prevention and sanction are the key words”, Juhász underscored, adding that environmental protection was not just a question of local or national interest, but a global challenge too, requiring our joint attention and action.
The AP Vojvodina Assembly President reminded the present of the regulations and programmes by which the provincial administration has been investing efforts in environmental protection for years, such as the Provincial Assembly decision on the APV environmental protection programme for the period 2016-2025 or the Programme for cleaner and greener schools, which has been implemented since 2013.
"This conference is an excellent opportunity to hear experts in the field of law, who will share their knowledge and best practices. It is important that our legal regulations be in line with modern challenges and that we protect natural resources for future generations," President Juhász emphasised.
The following persons took the floor at the opening: professor Stanko Bejatović SJD, president of the Serbian Association for Criminal Law Theory and Practice, Tatjana Bugarski SJD, full professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Novi Sad, Vladimir Beljanski, President of the Vojvodina Bar Association, Sandra Dokić, State Secretary in the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, Bojana Šćepanović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia, Nenad Vujić, Director of the Judicial Academy in Belgrade and professor Milan Škulić SJD, judge of the Constitutional Court of Serbia and professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade.