Possibility of testifying via video-link is an important step in exercising the rights of victims and witnesses as it prevents the possibility of additional trauma and secondary victimization.

The state-of-the-art videoconferencing equipment and specially outfitted rooms for testifying are available as of this year in five Higher Courts in Serbia, including the Higher Court in Niš.

Videoconferencing equipment for Higher Courts in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Niš and Novi Pazar, as well as the equipment for special rooms necessary for this type of testifying have been secured thanks to the project titled Support for Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Serbia, realized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia as the elected partner of the Ministry of Justice, and financed by the European Union.

Why is videoconferencing equipment important and how does it help victims exercise their rights? How does this system function in the Higher Court in Niš? Who can the victims speak to and how? Who has the right to testify via videoconferencing link and what does this type of testifying look like? Who can pose questions, to whom and in what way? Who offers support to the victim during their testimony? What is the role of victim support services? What does all of this mean for the victims and for the more efficient operation of the justice system of the Republic of Serbia? – these are some of the questions that will be answered by:

• Dragana Živadinović, President of the Higher Court in Niš
• Tamara Savić, Judge of the Higher Court in Niš
• Irena Radivojević, Deputy Public Prosecutors at the Higher Court in Niš

Contact application: anja.zelic@yahoo.com