Medenica acquitted of charges in Zekić case

The Court of Appeal has finally acquitted former Supreme Court President Vesna Medenica of charges of abuse of office in a case related to the treatment of Basic Court judge Milosav Zekić in Rožaje, because it was not proven that she exceeded the limits of her authority.

Judge Rapporteur Predrag Tabaš announced that the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor's Office as unfounded, while upholding the defense's appeals and reversing the first-instance verdict.

Medenica is acquitted of the charge of committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position, because it has not been proven that she exceeded the limits of her authority, said Tabaš, stating that the verdict becomes final on the day it is issued.

After the verdict was pronounced, Medenica said, "I am happy that there are still judges like this who are not for sale."

The Court of Appeal, in explaining its decision, stated that after a direct assessment of all the evidence presented, it was not established that Medenica had undoubtedly exceeded the limits of her official powers, nor that she had failed to perform an official duty the undertaking of which was prescribed by law and which was within her competence as President of the Supreme Court.

As a key reason for such a decision, the Court of Appeal stated that the decision to temporarily suspend a judge from exercising judicial office, according to applicable regulations, is made by the Judicial Council as a collective body, and not by the President of the Supreme Court individually.

The Court also assessed that a causal link between Medenica's actions and the fact that the Judicial Council did not make a decision to temporarily suspend Judge Milosav Zekić had not been proven, bearing in mind that information about the criminal proceedings against him was simultaneously submitted to the Judicial Council, which was competent to decide on the matter.

The Court of Appeal also referred to the official note that Medenica entered on the cover of the Supreme Court file, assessing that it does not represent an official decision in the legal sense or an act deciding on the rights, obligations or responsibilities of a person, but rather an internal statement without legal effect towards the Judicial Council or other bodies.

The court also stated that it did not establish a different factual situation than that established by the first instance court, but rather that it assessed the same evidence differently, that is, legally evaluated it.

Medenica was sentenced to six months in prison in a retrial before the Higher Court in Podgorica. The Court of Appeal had previously overturned the previous first-instance verdict that had imposed the same sentence on her.

According to the indictment, in 2019, as the President of the Supreme Court and a member of the Judicial Council, after receiving information that criminal proceedings were being conducted against Judge Milosav Zekić before the Basic Court in Kotor, Medenica decided not to take further action and archived the case.

The prosecution argued that in this way it obtained a benefit for Zekić because he was not temporarily suspended from his judicial position, while the defense disputed that Medenica had the authority to decide on such a measure. The Court of Appeal, accepting the defense's appeals, concluded that it had not been proven that she had exceeded the limits of her official authority.

The same case is related to the proceedings against the former secretary of the Judicial Council, Vesna Aćimić, who is being charged before the Basic Court in Podgorica with abuse of office and obstruction of evidence due to acting on information related to the Zekić case.

Begović: Justice is slow, but it has come.

Vesna Medenica's defense attorney, Zdravko Begović, said after the Court of Appeal's decision that this confirmed what the defense had been claiming from the beginning - that there was no evidence that the former President of the Supreme Court had committed the criminal offense of abuse of office.

"It is a day when we can say that justice was slow, but it has come. The Court of Appeals has made a decision that we have argued from day one must be like that – acquitting, because there is no evidence that Vesna Medenica abused her official position," said her defense attorney.

He emphasized that it is significant that the decision of the Court of Appeal is final and that there is no longer a possibility of appeal by the Special State Prosecutor's Office.

According to him, the court based its decision solely on the evidence and content of the case file, regardless of any other pressures.

Begović explained that the Court of Appeals stated as the key reason for Medenica's acquittal that she, as an individual, was not competent to decide on the issue relating to Judge Milosav Zekić, but that this was the competence of the Judicial Council as a collective body.

He added that on the same day that Medenica was informed about the proceedings against Zekić, the Judicial Council was also informed, which is why, as he stated, there was no obligation for it to take action itself.

Speaking about the official note that Medenica made on the inside cover of the file, the defense attorney said that it was not an official document, but an internal note, and that there was no evidence of criminal liability in that part either.

"I regret that what the Court of Appeals determined today was not determined earlier, but it is important that the final decision has been made," he said.