On 22 March 2013, the seminar for judges deciding in non-contentious procedure in the first and the second instance and judicial associates on the amendments to the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure, which stipulate a new procedure for determination of date and place of birth, was held in the Basic Court in Novi Sad. The seminar was attended by judges from Novi Sad, Vrbas, Sombor, Becej, Zabalj, Stara Pazova and other towns of Vojvodina.

The present were addressed by representatives of the Technical Group formed based on the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, Ombudsperson and UNHCR. It was pointed at the importance of standardization of the procedure for determination of time and place of birth in order to eradicate the phenomenon of legally invisible persons in Serbia. PhD Nikola Bodiroga, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, talked about the legal aspects, interpretation and analysis from the viewpoint of practical implementation of newly adopted solutions. The judges were given guidelines for acting upon some provisions of the new law. PhD Bodiroga particularly pointed at the specificity of the subject matter and the interest of the state to eradicate the phenomenon of legally invisible and therefore he suggested that judges should refer flexibly to the evidence in the concerned procedure and not insist on proving the facts related to time and place of birth to the extent of certainty but to the extent of probability, especially in case of statements of witnesses.

In the concluding part of the seminar, judges from Vojvodina presented their views on newly adopted regulation and exchanged experience from a few procedures initiated so far for determination of time and place of birth. It was pointed out that two concerned procedures have been initiated in Novi Sad and Sombor each, while only one motion has been filed in Zabalj and Becej each. The judge of Becej-based Court, who completed the procedure and issued a decision, presented the details of the respective procedure to the participants. Based on the comments of the present judges, insufficient information about the problem of legally invisible persons in Serbia and its consequences could be noticed, as well as a fear of abuse of legal solutions. This seminar should have a positive impact on the application of the new regulation and attitude the acting judges have towards its effects, particularly in reference to protection of interests of the members of the most vulnerable population groups.