The election of the three missing judges of the Constitutional Court did not ensure the full functionality of that highest judicial institution, because an even number is not effective for decision-making, said the executive director of Action for Human Rights (HRA), Tea Gorjanc Prelević.
The Parliament of Montenegro elected three of the four missing judges of the Constitutional Court. The election of new judges, Snežana Armenko, Dragana Đuranović and Momirka Tešić, was supported by more than two-thirds of government and opposition MPs.
"The task has been partially fulfilled. The court can now make decisions, but it doesn't have to, because an equal number of judges is not effective for making decisions. According to the Constitution of Montenegro, the Constitutional Court has seven judges, the deputies were obliged to elect all four judges and ensure complete functionality of the court", said Gorjanc Prelevic in a statement for the PR Center.
According to her, the Montenegrin public yesterday did not hear serious reasons for not electing the fourth judge.
Gorjanc Prelevic pointed out that, in the case of the election of a judge from among the Albanian peoples, it would be the first time that Montenegro has a judge of Albanian origin.
"We think it's a shame that one minority is not able to support another, especially since there were no members of the Albanian nation in the highest judicial instances of the country", believes Gorjanc Prelevic.
When asked what will happen if the fourth judge is not elected at the next session, Gorjanc Prelevic said that then a completely new procedure will begin, with a new deadline for applying for candidates.
"That entire process could be completed by the end of May at the earliest, which is again too long a period that can delay the full functionality of that court," explained Gorjanc Prelevic.
He also notes that it is no coincidence that the number of judges in the Constitutional Court is odd.
"Now, if there are divided views, decisions will not be able to be made again. We are on the threshold of the presidential elections, we will not have a fourth judge until that date, so I think that the election of three judges is a very limited and minimal success that does not deserve any enthusiasm. I repeat, the task has not been fulfilled to the end and it is necessary to choose a fourth judge", Gorjanc Prelevic pointed out.
Gorjanc Prelevic says that the task of the Assembly is to ensure the full functionality of the Constitutional Court.
When asked how much damage was caused by the non-functioning of the US, Gorjanc Prelevic replied that the damage is great considering the period of stagnation and the number of initiatives and proposals for constitutionality evaluation pending.
"We had local elections, we know that three municipalities did not announce the final results because of that. There are a lot of constitutional appeals and the Council of three judges could only decide on them by consensus", said Gorjanc Prelevic.
She agrees that, due to all the events, the impression was created that the judges were elected on a party basis.
"But we expect them not to vote in accordance with the interests of the party, but honorably and professionally. We expect that some judges will vote that way, but we cannot know how it will look in practice," said Gorjanc Prelevic.
According to her, the entire process of selecting judges was conducted in such a way that they did not choose the best candidate, with the best knowledge of constitutional law, the greatest experience...
"What was missing in the public was the discussion about the professional capacities and reputation of those candidates, in the end it all came down to the candidates of the parties. I think that is not good, because Montenegro needs a non-party court", assessed Gorjanc Prelevic.
HRA: The election of the fourth candidate is necessary for an effective Constitutional Court
Action for Human Rights announced that the Assembly was obliged to elect a fourth candidate for the judge of the Constitutional Court and thus ensure that the court has the seven judges required by the Constitution and that it can make a decision in any case.
"An even number of judges - six - does not ensure that, because it is possible that the votes are divided, and that the majority required for decision-making is not reached. This situation can complicate the decision-making on possible election appeals regarding voting in the presidential elections. The presidential elections are scheduled for March 19, 2023, and the missing judge can be elected in the second round of voting on March 27 at the earliest," HRA said.
They remind that in the second round, the fourth candidate, state prosecutor Faruk Resulbegović, will need the support of three-fifths of the deputies, that is, 49 votes.
"However, there is a strong possibility that he will not be elected in the second round either, because at yesterday's session he received 46 votes out of 78 deputies who voted at all (two deputies of the Social Democrats did not express their opinion, while one deputy of the DPS was absent). If not elections, the Constitutional Court will have to start a new procedure for electing a judge, which will last at least a month. We regret that the Bosniak Party did not support a candidate for a Constitutional Court judge who belongs to the Albanian national minority. Neither in the Constitutional Court, nor in the Supreme Court of Montenegro until now, there was no judge from the Albanian national minority, while there were Bosniaks. This fact further spoke in favor of the election of members of another minority to the Constitutional Court, in accordance with the Law on the Constitutional Court, which mandates that during the election, the members of parliament must also have this characteristic of national affiliation they should keep in mind," the announcement states.
They add that it is devastating that the desirable characteristics of judges of the Constitutional Court are reduced to national affiliation and affection for political parties.
"During the selection process, no objection was heard regarding the expertise of candidate Resulbegović, which is the main criterion for the selection," the announcement concludes.
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