Serbian Minister of Justice Snezana Malovic attended yesterday in the District Court the putting into operation of a highly advanced scanner system, donated by US Embassy in Belgrade with the aim of improving the safety of the Palace of Justice building.

Before that, District Court President Sinisa Vazic and Chief Legal Advisor of the US Embassy in Belgrade Eli J. Richardson signed a donation agreement with which the District Court received an explosives detector as well.

Malovic said that following the safety incidents in the past period, the Ministry has taken steps to improve safety in courts, such as increasing the number of court guards, providing video surveillance, scanners, metal detectors and other security equipment.

Malovic said that funds for increased security are drawn from the budget and from foreign donations.

She added that the judiciary reform is currently underway and that it will be completed within the deadline set by the law. The aim of the reform is to increase citizens’ confidence in the judiciary system.

Richardson specified that the donation is worth $45,657 and that this is just one in a series of donations by the US Embassy and the Office of the Permanent Legal Advisor to Serbia’s judiciary organs.

According to him, the counter sabotage scanner is a stationary X-ray machine used for checking the baggage, packages, letters and other objects and it makes it impossible to hide dangerous objects and substances in places where they are difficult to spot.

Vazic said that in this kind of control, there is no direct contact with the object that is being checked and there is no need to open it, which makes the checking procedure much quicker.

He explained that that is very important in buildings with a high circulation of people, such as the Palace of Justice building in which more than 2,000 people are employed and where over 5,000 people enter every day.

The Palace of Justice was evacuated last year over 60 times due to more than 70 bomb scares, which significantly reduced the efficiency of the courts. However, security was significantly improved by providing the necessary technical equipment, Vazic concluded.