Proposed changes to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO), which allows judges of the Constitutional Court to retire later, represent an inappropriate influence of the executive power on the Constitutional Court, 16 non-governmental organizations assessed yesterday, while the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) called on the government to withdraw them.
The proposal to amend the Law on PIO was submitted to the Parliament on Wednesday by members of the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES). It stipulates that a judge of the Constitutional Court acquires the right to an old-age pension upon "attainment of 67 years of age and 15 years of insurance experience". Article 17 of the Law on Pensioners stipulates that the insured acquires the right to an old-age pension when he reaches the age of 65 and at least 15 years of insurance experience and 40 years of insurance experience and 61 years of age.
Leader of the Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Becic he announced yesterday as a guest in Dnevnik TV Nova, that his party will not support those changes.
The NGOs stated in a joint statement that the adoption of the proposed legal amendment and the extension of the mandate of the current judges would unnecessarily call into question the integrity of the Constitutional Court, which must protect the rule of law, not the interests of the executive.
They remind that by adopting the amendments to the Law on PIO, the mandate of the current president of the Constitutional Court would be extended Milorad Gogić and judges Budimir Šćepanović, whose mandates according to the current law end in May, that is, female judges Dragani Đuranović i Desanka Lopičić, whose functions should also end by the end of this year.
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"We believe that the issue of the termination of judicial functions should be open to everyone in principle and solved for the future, in a way that does not call into question the integrity of the Constitutional Court", according to 16 NGOs, among them Action for Human Rights (HRA), MANS, Center for Civic Education (CGO), Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), Alternative Institute, Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS), Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI)...
DPS yesterday called on the parliamentary majority to withdraw from the parliamentary procedure the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on PIO and to start a dialogue on the issue.
MP of DPS Andrija Nikolić he said at the press conference that the ruling majority destroyed every principle of the rule of law in order to make the law anti-systemic because of one man.
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"They launched a political battle for the president of the Constitutional Court, Milorad Gogić, just as they once waged a political battle to remove from the judicial system Milivoj KatnićNikolić said.
"Political influence with outlines of political corruption"
Social Democrats (SD) MP Boris Mugoša said yesterday that it was an "unprecedented legal stunt", with the aim of forcibly extending the mandate of some judges, and added that the arguments presented by colleagues from the parliamentary majority were not founded.
"In this way, when the mandate of judges is extended at the end of their mandate, immediately by changes in the law, do not be surprised when it is said that a huge space for political influence with outlines of political corruption opens up," Mugoša said at the press conference.
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