SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladimir Djeric, Katarina Radovic and Lena Petrovic, Mikijelj, Janković & Bogdanović
2. Privacy Litigation 2.1 General Overview
developed and applied in a safe manner and in accordance with internationally recognised ethi - cal principles in order to use the potential of this technology to improve the quality of life of each individual and society as a whole, as well as for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”. In 2022, Serbia became a member of Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence and, in 2023, Serbia became a member of the AI Governance Alliance at the AI Governance Summit of the World Economic Forum in San Francisco. In January 2025, Serbia adopted the new “Strat - egy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2025- 2030”. The new Strategy acknowledged that Serbia had adopted UNICEF’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and that it had implemented the application of AI in the educational and health sector. The new Strat - egy advocates support for start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises in the AI sector and measures for increasing investment in the development of AI. It also establishes a National Artificial Intelligence Platform, an infrastructure platform which would facilitate innovation. The Strategy also focuses on introducing and imple - menting AI solutions in the public sector. One of the most important goals prescribed by the Strategy is the creation of a legislative frame - work for AI. The adoption and full implementa - tion of the AI legislation are planned by the end of 2027. 1.6 Interplay Between AI and Data Protection Regulations As mentioned in 1.5 AI Regulation , AI is not regulated in Serbian legislation.
Two main pieces of legislation relevant for pri - vacy litigation in Serbia are the PDPA and the Law on Public Information and Media. The PDPA defines data subjects’ rights and mechanisms for their protection, with the Commissioner as the main authority for the protection of person - al data. As mentioned in 1.4 Data Protection Fines in Practice , Serbia has a modest number of cases related to the protection of personal data. However, there are numerous defamation cases governed primarily by the provisions of the Law on Public Information and Media. In recent years, there have been many SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) against independent media and investigative journalists, filed by government officials, public servants, politicians, celebrity figures, and busi - ness owners whose business activities have been associated with corrupt practices. Since Serbia is not a member of the EU, EU case law does not directly affect Serbian courts. However, decisions of the ECHR are relevant for domestic court cases and are considered, particularly concerning the interpretation and application of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. 2.2 Recent Case Law As discussed in 1.4 Data Protection Fines in Practice , there is not much case law relating to the application of the PDPA. Recent exam - ples of SLAPPs relate to the investigative jour - nalist’s portal KRIK (the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network), which has been sued by a judge and her husband for a violation of privacy rights (criminal charges were also brought) by publishing profiles in the “Judge Who Judges”
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