Over nearly ten years, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (APC) has utilized its legal mandate in approximately 1,300 cases, informing relevant authorities about instances of public officials performing their duties without due diligence.

As a result of the Agency’s assessments and notifications, 43 officials were dismissed, while 369 others chose to resign from their public positions out of the total number.

According to Article 45 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, acting unconscientiously in a public function creates a conflict of interest for an official, along with violations of rules related to public function restrictions, gifts, sponsorships, donations, and income and asset declarations.

“…The Agency must notify the authority where the public official serves and the appropriate body responsible for the official’s election, appointment, or placement to initiate dismissal, suspension, or disciplinary measures,” the law specifies.

Since being founded in 2016, the Agency has reported around 1,300 cases of negligent public office performance to the relevant authorities, leading to 43 dismissals.

When inquired about how many of these 43 dismissals involved high-ranking officials such as MPs, government representatives, ministers, judges, prosecutors, or directors of major state-owned companies, the Agency stated that it does not possess that information.

“The Agency lacks precise data on such officials, as only partial records were maintained during the previous leadership’s term,” they mentioned, adding that presenting incomplete data without a thorough review could mislead the public.

Furthermore, the Agency indicated that, following their reports, the competent entities have issued 109 warnings as a form of disciplinary sanction and enacted 11 disciplinary fines.

“Additionally, the authorities reported the following actions to the Agency: in eight cases, the public official’s mandate was terminated; in 57 cases, it was indicated that the authorities lacked the legal capacity to act or redirected the cases elsewhere; in seven instances, it was stated that the current decisions would be considered for future appointments, dismissals, or elections; six cases awaited Administrative Court decisions related to complaints against the Agency’s rulings; in six cases, it was concluded that the offenses did not warrant disciplinary action; and 25 proposals for disciplinary measures were rejected,” noted the Agency, currently led by Dušan Drakić.

The Law on the Prevention of Corruption asserts that “a public official dismissed for breaching provisions related to conflicts of interest, public function restrictions, gifts, sponsorships, donations, or income and asset reporting cannot serve in any public capacity or civil servant role for four years following their dismissal.”

“Before deciding on the election, nomination, or appointment of a public official, the authority responsible must verify with the Agency whether the proposed candidate has been dismissed in the last four years due to violations of these provisions,” the Law stipulates.

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