Award before the court

Law on State Awards

Article 7

The decision on awarding the prize is made by a jury appointed in accordance with this law.

The decision to award the prize is publicly announced and must be explained...

Article 11

The jury adopts its rules of procedure.

The Rules of Procedure for Jury Work regulate issues of importance to the work of juries that are not regulated by this law...

Article 17

The annual Thirteenth of July Award is awarded to a citizen or national of Montenegro, a group of persons or a legal entity headquartered in the territory of Montenegro, for results of exceptional importance for Montenegro, achieved in the year preceding the award, in the fields of cultural and artistic creativity, sports, natural and social sciences, economy, ecology, or for works or achievements in all fields of work and creativity that contributes to the development and affirmation of Montenegro.

A maximum of three annual Thirteenth of July Awards can be awarded each year.

Only one annual Thirteenth of July Award can be awarded in one area.

At the panel "Montenegro between secularism and clericalism", which was held a few days ago in the Red Commune hall in Petrovac and organized by the informal civic association STEGA, Prof. Dr. Adnan Prekić pointed out that "despite the formally high support for EU integration, which amounts to 80 percent, our citizens would fail the first tests of Western character and values".

The recent decision-making of the Jury for the July 13th Award, appointed by the Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, not only confirms the stated position, but also indicates that our institutions, apart from declaratively, deviate from EU principles in their actions.

Firstly, among the common values ​​of the European Union member states, respect for human dignity and tolerance are highlighted.

It is obvious that in today's Montenegro, creativity that contributes to its development and affirmation is interpreted according to different (and unclear) criteria, but among the winners of the highest state recognition cannot be persons who, in their public activities, make statements that challenge the dignity of a certain social group (nation, ethnicity, religion, race, etc.) and violate the right to equality. In other words, when making public decisions, one must always take into account the protection of the constitutional order and the promotion of values ​​that establish harmonious relations in society.

In addition to this EU principle, Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union also stipulates that rules must be clear, precise and predictable!

The rule of law in the EU establishes that all decisions of public authorities must be in accordance with applicable regulations (laws and by-laws) that apply to a particular social area and must be in line with democratic values ​​and under the control of independent and impartial courts.

Accordingly, each award procedure includes a nomination process, evaluation of candidates and the manner of making a decision (a legally prescribed procedure that is necessary for the decision to have legal effect), as well as a ceremonial award ceremony (a legally prescribed public or ceremonial form of confirming the decision). The specific steps may vary depending on the type of award and the organization that awards the award, but in cases of state awards, despite different national traditions, a transparent, accountable and pluralistic decision-making process on the laureates is assumed. Of course, any arbitrary action and arbitrariness on the part of the members of the commission or jury is not permitted.

The rules of procedure for the jury for the award of the Thirteenth of July Award are not available to the public, which undermines the transparency of the procedure, while the jury members are allowed to arbitrarily interpret Article 17, paragraph 1 of the Law on State Awards regarding the reasons for awarding the award.

Finally, the fact that all three of this year's winners are from the field of cultural and artistic creativity not only represents a direct violation of Article 17, paragraph 3 of the Law on State Awards, but also a violation of the human rights of candidates from other fields and relates to legal certainty and equality of treatment.

Due to these inappropriate and disputed facts, the public's negative perception of an event that should unite us, not disturb us, is justified. While we await a possible re-decision by the Jury for the award of the Thirteenth of July Award and the publication of their written decision, as well as the necessary intervention of the Parliament of Montenegro regarding the protection of the principles of constitutionality and legality, it is possible that all of this will have a judicial epilogue.

In a game of dishonest intentions, only mistakes are real.