Judge Branislav Leković has scheduled the first-instance verdict for December 2 against former Supreme Court President Vesna Medenica and Commercial Court judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević, after the trial of these defendants for abuse of official position, or abuse of official position through incitement, concluded with closing arguments today.
Special Prosecutor Vukas Radonjić asked the court to declare them guilty and punish them according to the law - for Judge Vlahović Milosavljević he requested a one-year prison sentence, and for Medenica, three years in prison.
Medenica said today that politics has entered the courtroom, that they are trying to label her as the greatest evil and sacrifice her in order to get European "straps"...
Vlahović Milosavljević emphasized that the entire time, in fact, a final and lawful decision was being judged.
The prosecutor, however, pointed out that it was proven that the defendants committed criminal acts.
“It is not disputed that Judge Vlahović Milosavljević acted in case P.br. 564/16, and that the 'Ten' corporation was damaged in a dispute with the company of Rado Arsić, who is Vesna Medenica's godfather. There is correspondence between Vlahović Milosavljević and Medenica, in November and December 2018, which are legally valid. The authenticity of the messages is confirmed by the case files. In her defense before the SDT, Vlahović Milosavljević stated, among other things, that Medenica called her by phone and asked her to issue a decision on a temporary measure, that she gave in under pressure, and that Medenica is very awkward when someone objects to her. Everything indicates that Medenica created the decision for Judge Vlahović Milosavljević to commit a criminal offense and issue a decision in favor of her godfather Arsić. After issuing the temporary measure, Vlahović Milosavljević informed Medenica. Then, Medenica stated in the message that she would follow up and 'that she would call Blaž', who was a member of the Commercial Court panel that upheld the decision. The fact that the panel upheld the decision of Judge Vlahović Milosavljević is not significant, because there is a suspicion that the panel and Blažo Jovanić committed a criminal offense”.
Defense attorney Nikola Martinović asked what kind of institutions Montenegro has, stating that "our SDT has a malicious approach."
"In the case of Judge Jovan Stanković, who admitted as a witness that he made an illegal decision, and that is indisputable. He said that under pressure from Vesna Medenica, he made a decision that he knew was illegal and that was overturned by the Higher Court in Podgorica. For the SDT, Judge Stanković is a just witness, while Judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević, who made the decision, which was confirmed and legal, is being prosecuted by the SDT. Whoever finds justice here will be a candidate for the Nobel Prize. The 'Ten' corporation did not suffer any damage, nor did it suffer any damage due to the adoption of the interim measure. The 'Ten' corporation does not file a property claim for the simple reason that it owes more to Rade Arsić through final judgments than it demands from Rade Arsić. I propose that the court acquits Judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević of the charges," said Martinović.
Vlahović Milosavljević said that the prosecution forced and compelled her to prove that she was unjustly and innocently accused:
"And to defend a generally known and generally accepted position in legal theory - that between legality and finality there is an equal sign. I am not guilty and therefore I propose that you acquit me of the charges."
“I could never have imagined that this decision, several years after its entry into force, would become the basis for an indictment by a special state prosecutor who wants to prove its illegality, through his own interpretation of the provisions of the Law on Enforcement and Security. Even by specifying the indictment, the contradictions and inconsistencies in the previous indictment were not eliminated. Namely, contrary to the prosecution's thesis that the interim measure was ordered on the property of the applicant for security, it was undoubtedly ordered on the property of the opponent of security, and on his real right, i.e. mortgage, precisely in accordance with Article 287, paragraph 1 and Article 288, paragraph 1, item 3 of the Law on Enforcement and Security. In addition, in this specific case, the element of illegality, as one of the basic characteristics of the essence of a criminal offense, is missing, given that I issued the decision in question in accordance with the law, in the procedure prescribed by law, within the framework of my legal powers, and as such it became final. The security procedure in "The fact that a lawful interim measure was ordered is the only legally relevant fact for the adjudication of this criminal matter. Also, in this specific case, the consequence of the criminal offense is missing, as an essential characteristic of the essence of the criminal offense, since the adoption of the lawful decision did not result in any harmful consequences, nor was anyone's right seriously violated."
She concluded that the prosecutor, despite this, illegally, with his own assessment and prosecutorial conviction, which he presents as an authentic interpretation of the law, undermines the legality and finality of the confirmed court decision.
"Although the prosecutor does not directly accuse and prosecute the members of the Commercial Court panel that confirmed it, he indirectly accuses them of being complicit in my abuse, by confirming my allegedly illegal decision, which is absurd and in this way he attributes to himself the authority, power and control of court decisions, which he has no authority to do under either the Constitution or the law. It is even more absurd that the prosecutor, despite claiming that my decision is illegal, does not at the same time question the legality of the second-instance decision of the three-member IP panel, although it has been in force for almost seven years. If a judge should be held accountable because his decision, although legal, 'caused harm to someone' or 'severely violated the rights of another', then by the same logic the prosecutor would have to be held accountable for every acquittal because he unfoundedly accused innocent people and thus violated their numerous rights guaranteed by law and the constitution in the most serious way. Of course, such a legal approach would lead to absurdity in the legal order of a country, because the judicial authorities would become subject to criminal retaliation for professional decisions that are subject to varying legal interpretation,” she said.
The indictment states that Vlahović Milosavljević committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position, and Medenica committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position through incitement.
It says that Medenica, as the president of the Supreme Court, influenced a judge of the Commercial Court to make a decision in the case in favor of her godfather Arsić, to the detriment of the Moscow-based corporation "Ten".
Defense: The final decision is being tried
It is absurd that criminal proceedings are being conducted against a final decision by Milica Vlahović Milosavljević - this is the joint assessment of Vesna Medenica's defense attorneys, Zdravko Begović and Zdenko Tomanović.
"Three cases are being conducted against Vesna Medenica and there is a cry from politicians for verdicts to be issued by the end of this year. There are no elements of a criminal offense in Medenica's actions and I propose that you acquit her of the charges," emphasized lawyer Begović.
"The court should make the only possible decision, which is an acquittal," emphasized lawyer Tomanović.
He added that the legal system of Montenegro, with such accusations, threatens to be a mockery, because a lawful decision - a solution - is being tried here.
"There is no such criminal act that carries a lawful verdict. Even if there was persuasion and incitement to make a lawful decision, it cannot be a criminal act. There is no evidence that Medenica incited the making of an unlawful decision. The messages they exchanged were more of legal considerations and there were no orders from Medenica to judge Vlahović Milosavljević. There are no consequences because no damage was caused," Tomanović assessed.
Medenica: Construction to help this government
“I will start from the fact that the judges were not measured by politics, but only by evidence. It gives me the right to say that politics also entered this courtroom, because the attorney for the 'Ten' corporation expanded the accusation for reasons known only to him, because he wanted to convince everyone that this was preceded by a civil procedure in the Basic Court that was illegal and that I contributed to it. He said that he would give his godfather even blood under his throat. I would enable my godfather to get justice, as in this case, by asking for the law to be applied. The attorney for the 'Ten' corporation deliberately ignored the fact that, while I was still the president of the Supreme Court, my Supreme Court accepted the revision of 'Ten' and overturned the final judgment of the Higher Court in Podgorica... that the company 'Vin' be paid 2,285,539.98 euros. The Supreme Court's decision... of March 6, 2019 ordered a retrial in The Higher Court in Podgorica with a legal instruction to reduce the determined amount. So, the Higher Court, acting on the revision, changed and obliged the 'Ten' corporation to pay 1.404.616 euros, or 1.127,52 euros less. The SDT cannot question a lawful decision. This is incompetence, malicious intent and hatred. I will comment on this elsewhere. This attempt by the representatives of 'Ten' to criminalize me, as the SDT does not do, leads me to the conclusion that everything is a construction to help this government to close chapters 23 and 24 with my judgments, which I opened at the time. The biggest problem is those chapters where I am publicly called out as someone who has to bear all that they consider to be evil times so that I, as a victim, can be their scapegoat. On Friday, the head of the Supreme Court gathered all the judges around these judgments. This is an open secret," said Medenica.
Judge Leković then spoke up: "No one called me."
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