Due to the violation of the right to trial within a reasonable time, citizens were awarded 42.700 euros last year, which is almost twice as much compared to 2016, when that amount was 24.000, according to the Report on the work of the Judicial Council for 2017.
The Supreme Court received 54 lawsuits for just satisfaction, and out of the 51 cases, compensation due to the lengthy court proceedings was awarded in 29 cases.
The report of the Judicial Council has been submitted to the Assembly, which should give its opinion on it. And data from the European Court of Human Rights show that Montenegrins appeal to that court the most, mainly because court proceedings drag on indefinitely.
The report also states that this year the SC will regularly evaluate 48 judges of basic courts, who have between five and ten years of service, thus fulfilling the measure from the Action Plan for Chapter 23.
Montenegrin courts started 2017 with 32.305 cases, received 101.644, and did not resolve 30,85 percent. The report states that the number of unfinished cases per judge is 163,53 on an annual basis. The promptness of the work of the courts is also one of the recommendations of the European Commission, which will publish the Progress Report of Montenegro today.
Last year, only one proposal was submitted to the disciplinary prosecutor to determine the disciplinary responsibility of the judge, who was then punished with a 20 percent salary reduction for three months.
The report states that the Commission for the Code of Ethics received 18 initiatives to determine violations of the Judges' Code of Ethics. It says that in one procedure it was determined that only one judge had committed a violation of the Code of Ethics.
The EC insists on strengthening the responsibility of judges and prosecutors.
Female judges are improving the gender average, with the exception of the north of the country
In contrast to the unfavorable gender structure in most state institutions, female judges constitute the majority in almost all courts. According to the annual report, men are in the majority in the High Court in Bijelo Polje and the basic courts in Ulcinj, Rožaje, Plav and Žabljak. There are 14 female judges and five male judges working in the Supreme Court, and the head of the court is also a female judge.
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