Justice Minister Vesna Skare-Ozbolt said the bill represented another step towards making the justice system more efficient.
The bill envisages, among other things, the division of courts into regular and specialised ones. Municipal and county courts would be considered regular, while magistrates' courts, the commercial court, the higher magistrates' court, the higher commercial court and the administrative court would be considered specialised.
The bill would also give citizens the possibility to request the Supreme Court to monitor the uniformity of court practice.
The bill also envisages the introduction of judicial inspection, while judges would have to submit declarations of assets.
The opposition endorsed the bill in principle, but did not think it would significantly improve judicial performance.
Ratko Gajica of the Independent Democratic Serb Party said his party would vote for the bill if provisions from the constitutional law on ethnic minorities' rights guaranteeing minority representation in the judiciary were honoured.
The justice minister said the bill would be adjusted to said constitutional law before the second reading.