PM says DUUDI to be in charge of relocation of gov't services

The PM made the statement at a government session at which a bill of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act was forwarded to parliament for consideration, referring to the Environmental Protection and Nature Ministry and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund's moving to a new location, which has elicited public reactions due to a reportedly high cost of the lease of the new offices.

"We will do everything possible to free government ministers of that duty. It must be done by DUUDI. I don't want ministers to be targeted by media speculation for weeks without the public knowing the actual truth," he said.

The Ministry and the Fund will move to new offices, and their offices will be occupied by someone else from state administration who also pays a lease somewhere. "Eventually, DUUDI will organise the relocation of the new occupants who now pay an expensive lease somewhere else to an empty, state-owned space, where they will only pay for the utilities," Milanovic said.

The government has proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act to bring it into line with new legislation on the seats and jurisdiction of courts of law. Under the new law on the seats and jurisdiction of courts of law, as of February 1, 2015, all county courts will have jurisdiction over appeals against rulings by all municipal courts in criminal matters, and cases will be allocated to the courts by a random algorithm.

The prime minister said that this was an important reform that would increase the transparency of courts and citizens' confidence in them.