The process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union (EU) increasingly depends on measurable results in fulfilling the measures from the Action Plan (AP) for chapter 23 - justice and fundamental rights, according to the Center for Civic Education (CGO).
The coordinator of the program of that organization, Ana Vujošević, said that due to the limited results, the process holders started innovating and supplementing the AP for chapter 23 only when the European Commission (EC) indicated that the AP was set too ambitiously, without clear and measurable indicators and budget determination. which produced a low degree of fulfillment.
According to her, objections came from representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participating in the Working Group for the preparation of negotiations for that chapter.
"What government representatives did not want to hear from NGOs, they accepted when it came from the EC," Vujošević said.
She said that the Government's conclusion from the session on February 19 is that "it is necessary to preserve the initiative of the Government through appropriate legislative activity to submit a proposal for the dismissal of the holders of state prosecutorial and judicial functions for their inadequate and irresponsible attitude towards the state's priorities in the area of the rule of law, as the Government see", worrying.
According to Vujošević, such a conceived conclusion may indicate the Government's intention to directly influence the work of the judiciary and consequently threaten Montenegro's progress in that area and in the overall negotiation process.
According to her, such a conclusion of the Government comes after continuous objections from the EU regarding inappropriate political influence on the judiciary in Montenegro.
Vujošević explained that the basic intention of judicial reform is to achieve independence and prevent political influence, which was attempted by amending the Constitution and new legal norms related to a different way of electing members of the Judicial Council, the Prosecutorial Council and the Supreme State Prosecutor.
"Despite all the news, the Government has managed to maintain a certain degree of initiative in the dismissal of judges, by having its direct representative in the Judicial Council, in the form of the Minister of Justice," she assessed.
As Vujošević claims, that solution was introduced contrary to the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
"From the given conclusion of the Government, it can be seen that even this is not enough for the Government, but that there is an undisguised intention to maintain influence, which is unacceptable and contrary to all the standards that the same Government rhetorically strives for," she concluded.
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