Mirjana Popović dismissed

The Judicial Council has unanimously decided to dismiss the President of the Court of Appeal, Mirjana Popović.

The decision was announced by the President of the Judicial Council, Radoje Korać.

Korać said that the decision was made due to inappropriate behavior towards colleagues at the Court of Appeal.

Explaining the decision, he stated that the complaint preceded the motion for dismissal, emphasizing that it was the first time in history that all judges and almost the entire administration of a court complained about the inappropriate behavior of the president.

Korać announced that at the scheduled hearing, the President of the Supreme Court explained the reasons, and that she believed that the conditions for this had been met.

"In this case, there was no disciplinary procedure, but a special one. Her judicial function was not called into question, but only a decision was made to dismiss her from the position of president of the Court of Appeal," said Korać.

VIDEO Ivana Vlaović, TV Vijesti

The President of the SS also announced that Popović responded to all allegations made by her colleagues, claiming that it was a persecution against her.

"The complaints allege inappropriate behavior for 2024, 2025 and 2026. So, to varying degrees, it has been going on for almost two years. The allegations pointed out that her attitude towards employees was arrogant, that she caused a feeling of pressure and strong nervousness, that she did not choose the place or time where she would behave inappropriately. An unpleasant atmosphere during work in deliberations, telling judges to sabotage her," Korać listed some of the examples cited by judges and the administration against Mirjana Popović.

Korać added that Popović submitted evidence during the hearings - emails with colleagues explaining the situation, and that they also took into account all the statements made by the President of the Court of Appeal when making their decision.

"Evaluating all these allegations, individually and together, it was concluded that the information presented leads to the conclusion that relations in that court are disrupted and that they would not be quickly restored. On the contrary, it is reasonable to expect that they will become more difficult and serious, which could reflect on negative results in the work of that court," explained Korać.

Popović was dismissed from her position as president of the highest appeals court in the country at the proposal of Supreme Court President Valentina Pavličić.

She submitted the proposal for dismissal on March 20th, and after hearing complaints from all judges and most of the administrative staff and their statements, she concluded that there had been a complete loss of professional trust among the staff and that the functioning of the court had been called into question.

In the motion for dismissal, Pavličić states that the expressed conflict is not limited to individual cases, but is widespread and is estimated to be almost 100 percent of the collective. It is emphasized that the inappropriate manner of communication and management of the President of the Court of Appeal resulted in damaged relations between her, judges and employees, with a perception of general dissatisfaction.

The President of the Court of Appeal, during a hearing before the Judicial Council, which promptly concluded the proceedings, claims that she was targeted because she insisted that Vesna Medenica's detention case be ended on Saturday (February 28), after she heard that there were fears that the former President of the Supreme Court was planning to harm herself and that the police were searching her house for weapons she could use to do so.

Previously, judges, advisors and civil servants accused her in a complaint of insolent, arrogant and humiliating behavior, claiming that she shouted at colleagues, belittled employees and created an atmosphere of fear and pressure. Popović, however, denied everything and in her first statement stated that she was "more than surprised, taken aback and shocked" by the complaints, that no one had previously pointed out to her that she was behaving improperly and that she had only insisted on legal, prompt and efficient work.

The complaints state that the president did not accept opinions that differed from her own, that she reacted violently and in a raised tone at council meetings, and that she perceived disagreement as working against herself.

As one of the most serious examples, the judges cite a situation in which, after being outvoted in a case, she told judge Danijela Vukčević: "You are sabotaging me," claiming that her colleagues were colluding in advance to work against her.

The President of the Court of Appeal, however, denies that she exerted any pressure on the judges and claims that anyone who alleges this is "telling an absolute lie."