The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will consider a report at the end of January in which Montenegro is praised for its results in the fight against corruption, but regrets the failure to appoint judges of the Constitutional Court and members of the Judicial Council.
The report was prepared by the Committee for monitoring compliance with obligations arising from membership in the Council of Europe.
In the Draft Resolution, which, together with the Committee's report, will be considered at the PSSE session in Strasbourg from January 23 to 27, it is stated that the PSSE calls on the political parties in Montenegro to proceed without delay with the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court and members of the Judicial Council and that implement the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OSCE/ODIHR) regarding the electoral process before the presidential and parliamentary elections.
In the Committee's report, it is recalled that in 2022, Montenegro experienced significant political instability, which was the result of a continuous process of transformation after the 2020 elections, which for the first time in the country's history removed the DPS from power.
It is stated that the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court was urgently needed because "the inability of political parties to agree on candidates left many vacancies in the Constitutional Court", and the planned retirement of one of the judges in October left the court without a quorum.
"All political parties were aware of the importance of such appointments for the rule of law and the proper functioning of democratic institutions," the report says.
It is added that the development of events in the fight against corruption is very promising and that the arrest of the former President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Vesna Medenica, as well as the former President of the Commercial Court Blaž Jovanić, may indicate a real political will to combat corruption.
"However, the political debate focused on the adoption of the agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church by the Government. Such agreements exist with all other religious communities, but the ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church are extremely sensitive in Montenegro, and the content of the agreement is considered by many to be illegal and unconstitutional. After the decision "On the adoption of this agreement, DPS withdrew its support for Dritan Abazović's government and on August 20, the parliament voted no confidence. Abazović's government remained as a transitional government until the formation of a new government or the calling of extraordinary parliamentary elections."
These events, it is added, hindered the electoral reform and the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court.
"On October 21, the Assembly again failed to appoint judges, so the Constitutional Court is now unable to function properly on election issues," the report concluded.
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