The executive branch would like to change the procedure for selecting the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures

The government plans to take control of the election of members of the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures, removing the job from the parliament. The executive branch would elect the president and members of this body, as in Croatia and Albania, while parliament would be formally responsible for their appointment.

The mandate of the current members of the Commission would end immediately upon the appointment of the new leadership.

This is a novelty that was included in the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on Public Procurement, which the Government established at its session on June 4. This scenario for the selection of the Commission was not in the Draft Amendments that the Ministry of Finance put up for public debate at the end of January. The amendments, which "Vijesti" had access to, were originally published on the Government's website in early June, but have since been removed - with the explanation that they will be published after technical editing.

According to the current law on public procurement, the Commission is elected by the Parliament based on a public call.

"Vijesti" expects answers from the Ministry of Finance, which was asked why amendments were proposed that were not in the Draft, who did it and when, what they plan to achieve through them, and whether the competences of the Parliament are being taken away in this way.

Commenting on the changes that were temporarily posted on the Government's website, the NGO "Institut Alternative" said that it is an open question why the finance ministry is again changing the method of selecting the Commission, and that adopting this measure would be a return to the previous solution and a meaningless progress.

The Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures is a professional and independent body consisting of a president and six members appointed for a five-year term with the possibility of re-election and serves to protect the rights of those participating in tenders and public-private partnerships. Public procurement is carried out by state authorities through the Montenegrin Electronic Public Procurement (CeJN) system, and the Commission, among other things, receives and decides on complaints and informs inspectorates of illegalities, while its decisions are not final and can be challenged before the Administrative Court.

"Article 200, paragraph 1 is amended to read: "The President and members of the Commission for the Protection of Rights shall be appointed by the Parliament upon the proposal of the Government, based on a public call. The Government shall launch a public call for the appointment of the President and members of the Commission referred to in Article 200, paragraph 1 of the Law within three months from the date of entry into force of this Law. On the date of appointment of the President and members of the Commission in accordance with this Law, the mandate of the President and members of the Commission elected in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement shall terminate," the proposal for amendments to the Law states.

Public policy researcher at the NGO "Institute Alternative" Dragana Jaćimović said that in 2010 they insisted that the members of the Commission be elected by the Parliament, which was accepted by the amendments of 2023, and she also recalled that this method of appointment was one of the anti-corruption measures from the 2013 Action Plan for Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights.

She emphasized that after the decision to elect the president and members of the Commission by the Parliament, the focus of the European Commission's report in this section has shifted to completing the composition of this body.

"This amendment was not at all part of the Draft Amendments to the Law that was on public debate in February this year, and all those who commented during the public debate, during which over 150 suggestions were received, did not know that this would be the subject of amendments. In addition, this amendment is not mentioned anywhere in the explanation accompanying the Bill adopted by the Government. Questions remain open as to why the Ministry of Finance decided to change the method of selecting the Commission again and why it was not part of the draft that was on public debate but was subsequently added to the Bill. Adopting the Bill with this provision would mean returning to the solution that was previously valid and would render meaningless the progress made through previous legislative amendments, thanks to which, among other things, we have temporarily closed that chapter," Jaćimović pointed out.

The editorial team also sought the position of several parliamentary groups, namely the Democratic Party of Socialists, Social Democrats, New Serbian Democracy, Democrats, Democratic People's Party, Bosniak Party, and Civic Movement URA, but no responses were received by the time this issue was published.

Currently, in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the parliament is responsible for selecting and appointing the Commission, while in Croatia and Albania, membership is proposed by the local governments and appointed by the parliament.

The impact assessment (RIA) of these amendments does not mention that the Government will take over the process of selecting the members of the Commission, nor does it mention this in the announcement on the Government's website. The Government stated on its website that the Public Procurement Law is one of the key systemic laws for ensuring the legal, economical and transparent spending of state money, and that the functioning of public administration, the economy and the trust of citizens, as well as Montenegro's obligations in the process of accession to the European Union (EU), have created a need to improve the regulation.

"In this sense, the proposed amendments aim to strengthen the integrity of the public procurement system, improve the anti-corruption framework and further align national legislation with the EU acquis, as well as the recommendations from Chapter 5 - Public Procurement and Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights," the Government said in a statement.

According to the 2025 work reports submitted by the Commission to the Parliament, the body worked on 403 cases last year - and resolved 364 of them. The state treasury allocated around 550 thousand euros for the Commission's work last year. Among the irregularities, the Commission most often found that state bodies had formed tenders in a way that unjustifiably restricted market competition, that procurement descriptions gave preference to certain companies, that there were violations in the clarification of documentation, incorrect application of laws, deviations from tender conditions and requirements...

Adopting the Bill with this provision would mean returning to the solution that was previously in force and would render meaningless the progress made through previous legal amendments, thanks to which we, among other things, temporarily closed that chapter, pointed out Dragana Jaćimović.