The former president of the Judicial Council, Mladen Vukčević, said that he learned about the anonymous complaint against judge Milosav Zekić from the media, a year after it was filed.
He said this in the High Court in Podgorica during the continuation of the trial of the former president of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, accused of having committed the criminal offense of abuse of office in relation to Zekić, a former judge of the Basic Court in Rožaje.
Vukčević stuck to his earlier statement given before the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), in which he stated that it was the duty of the secretary of the Judicial Council to inform him of all the facts that are important, before a request was sent to the disciplinary prosecutor.
"Secretary of the Judicial Council Vesna Aćimić should have informed me that criminal proceedings are being conducted against Judge Zekić and filed a report. She does not have the authority to decide on her own to refer it to the disciplinary prosecutor, instead of the Judicial Council and me," he said.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP) filed an indictment against Medenica, accusing her of illegally and without the knowledge of members of the Judicial Council, making a decision and archiving the case of the judge of the Basic Court in Rožaje.
Former Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin said at today's trial that he learned about Judge Zekić's case at a session of the Judicial Council.
"I thought that his resignation should be rejected, and that he should be dismissed. At that time, reports and complaints were not the competence of the President of the Supreme Court. It is up to the Judicial Council to consider complaints at sessions," Pažin said.
Vesna Aćimić said that she independently made the decision not to inform the Judicial Council about the mentioned application, but to inform the disciplinary prosecutor.
"In the period from March 1, 3 to March 2019, 15, I performed the duties of secretary of the Secretariat of the Judicial Council from home because my father and I were sick, and after March 3, 2019 and the following seven days because we My father died then. After I received the anonymous report from the courts, I sent the reports to the disciplinary prosecutor, but for technical reasons I did not inform the president about it "Today, I think I should have done that. I forgot about everything, because my father passed away," said Aćimić.
Answering Vesna Medenica's question, witness Aćimić said that the anonymous report was addressed to the Judicial Council.
Branko Vučković, former president of the Basic Court in Kotor, stood by his testimony before the SDT in which, among other things, he stated that judge Momirka Tešić made a statement at his request and explained the circumstances of the failure to inform the Judicial Council about the proceedings in which she convicted Zekić .
"I found out about the proceedings against Judge Zekić only when I received a letter from the Supreme Court," Vučković said.
Presenting her defense at the previous hearing, the defendant Medenica denied the indictment's allegations that she had committed the criminal offense of abuse of office in relation to Zekić.
"And this court case against me is political and legal hypocrisy," said Medenica.
She clarified the course of action in relation to the anonymous report against Zekić, which was submitted to the Judicial Council and the Supreme Court.
She pointed out that by law she did not have jurisdiction in this matter, but the Judicial Council of Montenegro.
She pointed out that the Judicial Council also received an anonymous report on the same day as the Supreme Court, so whoever was in charge was also informed about it.
The indictment alleges, among other things, that on February 18, 2019, Medenica, in her capacity as an official of a public official, president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro and member of the Judicial Council, was aware of her act and its prohibition, the execution of which she wanted, by exceeding the limits of her official powers, benefited Milosav Zekić, the judge of the Basic Court in Rožaje. In the way that she went beyond her powers as the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, in the case of Judicial Administration IV-I-Su. no. 7/19, formed on the basis of a submission by a group of citizens, dated January 23, 01, after receiving the requested information from Dr. Branko Vučković, president of the Basic Court in Kotor, in act Posl. no. IV-2019-Su 1/11 dated February 19, 12, in which it was stated that criminal proceedings are being conducted before that court, among others, against the defendant Milosav Zekić, in the case of business designation K. no. 02/2019/159, due to the criminal offenses of endangering safety from Article 18 paragraph 18 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and light physical injury from Article 168 paragraph 1 in relation to paragraph 152 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro according to the indictment proposal of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor, Kt. no. . 2/1, dated June 387, 17. years. Along with which document she was also provided with a copy of the indictment proposal of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor, Kt. no. 04.06.2018/387, dated June 17, 04.06.2018. years.
As stated in the indictment, Medenica stated with an official note on the inner cover of file IV-I Su no. 7/19 that "until the end of the proceedings, I do not find it necessary to take any action, a family dispute", and she archived the case.
At the same time, she did not inform the President of the Judicial Council and the other members of the Judicial Council that she had made a decision that it was not expedient and justified to take any action in relation to Judge Milosav Zekić, even though she was aware that criminal proceedings had been initiated against him for the criminal acts that constitute him. unworthy to perform the function of a judge.
Knowing that making a decision on whether the legal conditions for the temporary removal of a judge from office are met are not within her competence as the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, but, in accordance with the provisions of Article 121 paragraph 3 of the Law on the Judicial Council and judges, are within the competence of the Judicial Council, in in which Vesna Medenica, as a member, had the sole authority to express her voice on that issue, and not to make a decision on behalf of the entire collective body of the Judicial Council. As a result, Judge Milosav Zekić was granted a benefit in the form of non-removal from the exercise of judicial functions and realization of the right to full salary in the period from February 18, 2019, to July 20, 2020, when, at his request, his resignation was noted.
In that period, he only had the right to a reduced part of his salary because the legal conditions for temporary removal from duty were met, and at the same time he was given the benefit in the form of the privilege of performing the function of a judge and protection of his reputation, although in the said period, he could not perform that function perform.
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