In recent days, there have been frequent appearances by public figures in which they talk not only about professional references, but also about the moral suitability of one of the candidates for Supreme State Prosecutor, Milorad Marković, M.Sc. And this is where we come to the legal field, because the question arises to what extent someone can present public qualifications about others, without it being a violation of personal rights. I do not know the other candidates and I did not have the opportunity to work with them professionally, so my opinion about them is not relevant, except for the part of commenting on their professional biographies. I believe that it is not appropriate for me to do this, because their work is continuously evaluated by the competent bodies.
And, I am not writing a recommendation for the employment of Mr. Marković, because if that were the case, the text would not be in this format, but I think it is fundamentally fair that as someone who has followed his work for a long time and knows his human and professional qualities, I should say a few words.
I met Mr. Milorad Marković as an outstanding student of the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro, whom I remembered from that period not only by his grades, but primarily by his attitude and interest not only in law, but also in general social situations. For a whole decade, he worked dedicatedly at the Faculty of Law as a teaching assistant in the courses Criminal Procedural Law and International Criminal Law and was irreplaceable even in performing tasks related to the improvement and development of the faculty and its teaching. He never shied away from heavy responsibilities, which according to the job description he was not supposed to do. His main motive was to help the institution and all this at the expense of time to complete his duties. In one, politically/interest sensitive moment, he paid dearly for his engagement and public expression of legally based views, getting fired, at a time when he already had an established family and was a parent. This did not happen to me and other colleagues who were already in teaching positions and had more secure positions at work, but it did happen to my colleague Marković and the group of assistants at the time. Thus, the Faculty of Law became impoverished in terms of articulating public views, while international organizations, as well as the economy and politics, profited.
He continued his professional training by defending his master's thesis at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, as well as passing the bar and bar exams. In the following period, for more than ten years, colleague Marković built a respectable career solely on his own merits as a consultant, legal advisor and legal expert, collaborating on projects with several international organizations primarily in the field of criminal law matters (he was hired by, among others: Council of Europe in Montenegro, OSCE, German GIZ, British AIRE Center). And, it is important to note that this is a professional engagement in the capacity of a lawyer. For those who don't know, and some who comment are well versed in the following: when "foreigners" hire you to do legal analysis and make recommendations, you are obliged to respect their internal standards in addition to the professional standard of conduct, which obliges you to be impartial and not to express personal value and political judgments. So, when we talk about expressing views on some anomalies in society, it is not the same position, for example, university professor; someone from the non-governmental sector whose job description is to deal with issues of corruption, for example; someone who works either as a judge, prosecutor or in a ministry or municipality and someone who works on projects of international organizations. This is precisely the kind of engagement Mr. Marković had in projects at the State Prosecutor's Office, which contributed to the establishment of international standards for processing the most serious forms of cross-border crime and international judicial cooperation.
A university professor can freely comment and express both legal and political views, as long as he does not damage the reputation of the institution where he works; colleagues from the non-governmental sector do their work and are paid for it; colleagues from the "system" also have systemic restrictions regarding public appearances, and foreign organizations are looking for objectified results.
I believe that Montenegro as a society can only gain when those who know and implement international standards, have personal and professional integrity and are independent of political influences are in the most responsible positions. Politics is the skill of the possible, and I believe that my colleague Milorad Marković, M.Sc., will receive the necessary support in the Parliament of Montenegro to bring another institution to a regular state of operation, and let his actions be judged.
The author is a full professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro and vice president of the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro
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