ANEM: Cancel the evaluation committees for the projects in which Slavoljub Ristić was selected.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has sent official letters to the local governments of Dimitrovgrad, Čajetina, and Svrljig requesting the annulment of the decisions regarding the appointment of committees for project evaluation within the grants for co-financing media content. This request is based on the fact that Slavoljub Ristić, who holds a public office, was selected in all three cases. The letter was also addressed to the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, urging the removal of this candidate's name from the Unified Information System (JIS) so that the authorities issuing the grants cannot select him again.
Slavoljub Ristić is listed in the registry of public officials as a person actively performing the function of President of the Board of the Republic Institution Film News since March 12, 2026. It is evident that Ristić was appointed to this position after the publication of the final list of candidates for evaluating media projects, and it is likely that he applied for the same earlier, which does not justify the authorities appointing him to the commissions.
Ristić was also a member of the commissions in Pirot and Trstenik, which have already made decisions regarding the allocation of funds based on the competition for 2026.
Article 25, paragraph 3 of the Law on Public Information and Media stipulates that the members of the commission are appointed by the head of the authority that announced the competition, from among theorists, analysts, and practitioners in the field of media who apply independently, or from media and journalism associations that do not have a conflict of interest, i.e., who do not hold a public office, in accordance with the regulations governing conflicts of interest in the performance of public functions.
Paragraph 6 of the same article stipulates that appointed, elected, or appointed individuals in the authorities of the Republic of Serbia, autonomous provinces, local self-government units, public enterprises, and companies, institutions, and other organizations, whose founder or member is the Republic of Serbia, an autonomous province, or a local self-government unit, as well as related persons in relation to these individuals under the regulations governing conflicts of interest in the performance of public functions, cannot participate in the work of the commission.
Article 149, paragraph 1, item 6 stipulates that a responsible person in a public authority will be fined from 50,000 dinars to 150,000 dinars for a violation if, contrary to the law, they make a decision on the appointment of a commission that evaluates projects submitted for the competition (Article 25, paragraphs 3-6).
Accordingly, the heads of that authority who appointed him to the commissions should remove him from those positions, along with the other members of the commission. The provision of Article 21, paragraph 6 of the Rules on Co-financing Projects for Achieving Public Interest in the Field of Public Information states that if an appointed member is, for justified reasons, prevented from further participating in the work of the commission, or it is determined that he has a conflict of interest, the commission shall be dissolved and a new one appointed from among the applicants. As stipulated in Article 19, paragraph 1 of the said Rules, the members of the commissions are appointed by the head of the authority that announced the competition, it follows that the head of the authority that announced the competition is also responsible for dissolving the existing commission and forming a new one.
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)
The project of the Association of Independent Electronic Media "Participatory Monitoring of the Implementation of the Co-financing Process of Projects" is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the MATRA program. ANEM is solely responsible for the content, which does not necessarily reflect the official views of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
