Association of Lawyers for Medical and Health Law of Serbia SUPRAM is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization which is by its orientation a professional association of legal experts experienced or interested in the area of health and medical law. It was established in 2012by the professors, research fellows, attorneys at law and other legal professionals that founded the first ever association of the sort in Serbia– Association for Medical Law of Yugoslavia in 1997. Despite the continuity with the previous association, SUPRAM is primarily focused on legal and policy research, advocacy and activism through dedication to special professional and interdisciplinary topics in law. SUPRAM has a goal to develop and promote the field of medical and health law by advancing standards in the given areas. SUPRAM works on expanding legal education and on continuous education of medical professionals. SUPRAM performs its main tasks in the fields of human rights, public health, health care management, environment protection, economy and insurance, in cooperation with public institutions, similar entities and associations, NGOs, both nationally and internationally. Members of SUPRAM are experienced legal practitioners. Association goals are achieved through different activities which include projects, education, public debates and participation in preparation of policy documents and legislative proposals. The goals are achieved through organization of conferences, seminars and other types of education and training, independently or in partnership with other NGOs, public institutes, governmental institutions, and healthcare institutions; as well as in cooperation with universities, professional associations and other entities in the state and abroad, within the similar fields of interest.
THE INITIATIVE: Founding of SUPRAM was initiated by fellows from the Centre for Legal Research of the Institute of Social Sciences Belgrade and they make its expert core. The Centre is a separate organizational entity within the Institute and goes back to the Institute’s founding in the year of 1957. During the last two decades, the Centre has been intensively working on research in medical and health law and in that sense is the only competent institution for these issues in the country and one of the very first in the region. Among the founders of SUPRAM are also other legal scholars and practitioners from Serbia and abroad.