Montenegro is ready to prosecute war crimes, and in this it will have the help of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts, it was concluded at the meeting of the Montenegrin Minister of Justice Andrej Milović and the prosecutor of the Mechanism, Serž Bramerac.
Milović, in a video statement after the talks in The Hague, said that the meeting with Bramerc was very successful and that the message was conveyed that Montenegro is ready to prosecute war crimes.
Milović said that the time has passed when war crimes were only talked about.
"Now the times are coming when Montenegro will have mechanisms to fight against them, and one of those mechanisms is the special court that we will establish," Milović said.
He added that the Mechanism, represented by Bramerc, will be a great support to Montenegro in the prosecution of war crimes.
The Ministry of Justice said that at the meeting it was assessed that the announced special court for the fight against organized crime, high corruption and war crimes will represent a big step for Montenegro.
They stated that Bramerc "welcomed and supported Milović's energetic approach regarding changes to the Montenegrin legislation".
"And especially the demands of the Minister of Justice that the Mechanism and the Ministry of Justice have direct contact in order to provide assistance in changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure related to the prosecution of war crimes," the announcement states.
It is added that Milović informed Bramerac about the plans to establish a new Special Court in Montenegro, where the best judges would work, and whose competence would be cases in the field of organized crime, high corruption and war crimes.
As stated by the Ministry, the prosecutor strongly supported those plans and said that Montenegro can count on any necessary professional help and support from the Mechanism.
The department said that Bramerc informed Milović about the just-completed visit of Montenegrin prosecutors and investigators to the Prosecutor's Office of the Mechanism, where detailed, operational discussions were held about important ongoing investigations.
The announcement states that Milović welcomed the close partnership between the Prosecutor's Office of the Mechanism and the Special State Prosecutor's Office, which shows the importance of international assistance that will enable Montenegro to achieve its priorities in the field of justice.
"Bramerc and Milović concluded that continued cooperation between the Prosecutor's Office of the Mechanism and the Montenegrin authorities in the coming years will be key to achieving more justice for the greater number of victims of crimes committed during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia," the statement said.
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