EKIP illegally appointed director: Basic Court rules on Agency Council decision

The Council of the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (EKIP) illegally appointed Marija Konjević for the position of executive director on November 23, 2024, because she did not meet the requirements set out in the competition. This, among other things, is stated in the first-instance verdict issued by the Basic Court in Podgorica in mid-June, which "Vijesti" had access to.

This decision is not final as it can be appealed until the end of June.

The dispute against EKIP over the appointment of Konjević was initiated by Srdjan Mihaljević who competed for the same position in the fall of 2024. He was one of four candidates considered in a public competition, after which the EKIP Council appointed Konjević as director in November 2024 with three out of five votes. The term of office of the EKIP executive director is four years, and Konjević took office at the end of January last year.

The Council session was then attended by its president Milan Radulović, members Jelena Savić, Amer Nokić i Dejan Jovanovic, with the then director of EKIP Darko Grgurović and the secretary Milena Ivanovic. Member of the Council Nikola Labovic voted electronically because he could not attend.

"Vijesti" has repeatedly published details about this appointment and the extensive accompanying documentation, in which Konjević's qualifications were repeatedly disputed. The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption received three reports on this case, the main one related to checking information about whether there was a conflict of interest in Konjević's appointment because Savić, who is allegedly her godmother, also voted for her.

In the lawsuit filed with the Basic Court, Mihaljević also requested that the director selection process be repeated based on the 2024 competition, but the judge Ivana Martic refused.

"The claim is partially accepted, and the defendant's decision of November 23, 2024 is annulled as unlawful. The claim by which the plaintiff requested that the defendant be ordered to issue a new and lawful decision on the selection of the executive director from among the candidates registered in the advertisement of September 25, 2024, within eight days of the judgment becoming final, is rejected as unfounded," the judgment states.

Studies allegedly controversial

Mihaljević claims in his lawsuit that according to the competition, candidates had to have a higher education of 240 credits, or completed four-year studies in electrical engineering, postal traffic, economics or law, with at least five years of experience in jobs in the field of electronic communications or postal services.

He stated that Konjević graduated from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics and did not meet the requirements of the competition, which is why he requested that the decision on her selection be annulled and that EKIP elect a new director. His lawyer emphasized that Konjević's claims and the letter from the University of Montenegro dated October 28, 2024 are unfounded, that the document was ordered to provide an alibi for an illegal decision, and that the question is not whether someone can work, but whether they meet the requirements.

EKIP responded that the lawsuit was irregular, that the value of the subject of the dispute was not indicated, that evidence was not listed and submitted, and that the procedure was unfounded, as were the allegations that Konjević was not qualified.

"The defendant took care to ensure that the selection process was conducted properly and legally, which is why it formed the Competition Commission. During the selection procedure, the commission obtained the opinion of the University of Montenegro dated October 28, 2024, which states that a student who completes computer science can fully perform all the tasks of a student who has completed the study program in electrical engineering, telecommunications and computers. This means that the allegations in the complaint report that Konjević did not meet the requirements of the competition, namely that she did not complete a four-year study program in electrical engineering, postal traffic, economics or law, are incorrect, but she meets the requirements for election to the position of executive director...", EKIP stated and requested that the complaint be rejected as unfounded.

Attorney Konjević also emphasized that the allegations are unfounded and contrary to the documentation evaluated by the commission and the EKIP Council, and that the position on her references was given by the competent higher education institution, i.e. the University. She added that the commission and the Council could not ignore the position of that institution and requested that the lawsuit be dismissed as unfounded.

The University's position is irrelevant to the court

Judge Ivana Martić emphasized that the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, in a letter from the end of October 2024, indicated to the commission that the affiliation of a study program to a specific field is determined by the higher education institution, while the employer checks whether the conditions are met.

"The court took into account the provision of Article 10 of the then applicable Law on Higher Education, which stipulates that a study program is the basic unit for the classification of higher education with a defined structure and number of credits that provides an individual with the learning outcomes necessary to acquire knowledge, skills and competences for the field of work from the level of higher education defined in the National Qualifications Framework and award a diploma. Article 15 of the Law on the National Qualifications Framework provides that, depending on the field of activity, qualifications are classified by sectors, with "electrical engineering" falling under "engineering, production technologies". The court concludes that the defendant (EKIP) did not correctly or fully establish that Konjević had the required level of qualification," the reasoning of the verdict states.

Martić also emphasized that EKIP had to take into account the International Standard Classification of Occupations, according to which computer science and electrical engineering belong to the same genus and type, but not to the same sub-type and group of occupations. Therefore, as she claims, the position of the University, which declared itself on the qualifications of students, or of lawyer Konjević that the court cannot assess the equality of studies, is not important.

She also pointed out that Konjević did not submit a certificate of completed undergraduate studies, but rather a certificate of specialist studies, and that she believes that the question is well-founded - how did the commission determine that she had an education in the amount of 240 credits.

"The court's final conclusion is that the defendant's Council did not properly evaluate Konjević's application, and the contested decision, as well as the procedure that preceded its adoption, cannot be examined because it is unfounded in terms of substantive validity, and for these reasons it should have been annulled," she emphasized in the verdict.

Martić added that Mihaljević's appeal regarding the new election of the executive director of EKIP is not legally possible, because in the meantime, a new Law on Electronic Communications has been passed, which stipulates other and special conditions for the director, so the election based on the 2024 competition cannot be carried out.

The EKIP Council also requested an inspection.

In July 2025, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) was in the final phase of the administrative procedure, namely checking whether her godmother and member of the EKIP Council, Jelena Savić, allegedly participated in the election of Konjević.

A letter to ASK about a potential conflict of interest was sent in mid-December 2024 by former EKIP executive director Darko Grgurović, in which he claims that Savić is in a godfather relationship with Konjević and that she had to recuse herself from the vote.

After the appointment, the EKIP Council also wrote to ASK regarding this matter, in order to obtain an opinion on a potential conflict of interest in performing public functions.

The fact that Konjević has a degree from the Faculty of Science, that is, that he is a specialist in Computer Science, was also a topic at the EKIP Council meeting on November 21. At that time, the Council adopted the report on the work of the commission for the selection of the EKIP director by a majority vote, four to one, while the President of the Council, Milan Radulović, dissented and said that he was against it, because the report was contradictory and incomplete.

He said that it is clearly visible that Konjević did not submit her undergraduate degree, and that the letter from the University of Montenegro regarding this degree does not provide unambiguous information regarding the fulfillment of the competition requirements.

At that time, the University's opinion was obtained, stating that a student who completes computer science, in terms of skills and knowledge in this field, can fully perform all jobs, as well as a student who has completed the study program in electronics, telecommunications and computers.