The Judicial Council functions legally and in accordance with the powers given in the Law on the Judicial Council, this was concluded at today's working collegium, which rejected as unfounded the claims of the Dutch ambassador Dirk Jan Kopp that the new president of the SC was elected in an illegitimate procedure and is therefore placed the dormant four-year project funded by this country.

- The members emphasize that the first person of the Council was elected at a session with the necessary number of votes determined in the Law on the SSRSM. The Council called on the authorities to investigate all suspicions of corruption, and they also remind that the Supreme Court additionally and in a legal procedure checks all decisions made to check the responsibility of judges through the Appeals Council, according to the announcement from the working collegium.

The Dutch project, as indicated in the announcement, lasts four years and consists of three components: efficiency, accountability, transparency and regional cooperation and is currently in its third project year.

Yesterday, in a Sunday interview with Radio Free Europe, Ambassador Kopp said that the Netherlands has put on hold a project related to the Judicial Council, which, he said, has become an illegitimate body.

Asked about the state of the justice system, the Dutch ambassador said that it is a central issue, which the Netherlands follows closely.

- It is part of the "basics" chapter that opens first and closes last and will remain of high importance throughout the process. But what we see, on the contrary, is that all the cases of the SPO are sinking one by one, and that is a very bad development, and now we have the case of the Judicial Council, which has actually become an illegitimate body. It is very serious and painful to watch. And because of that precedent, the Netherlands has now put a major project related to the Judicial Council on hold. The situation is very serious, said Kopp.