The President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović announced that he issued decrees on the promulgation of ten laws that were adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro in the previous days.
Earlier this week, the Assembly sent all 12 adopted laws to Milatović, and he returned two documents for reconsideration - the Law on the National Public Broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro and the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council and Courts.
"As I announced earlier, for reasons known to the public, I sent the Law on the National Public Broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro, which reduces the criteria for the selection of the director of RTCG from a valid 10 to 5 years of work experience, to the Assembly for reconsideration. that the adopted decision ignores the importance of the public service and calls into question its editorial independence, especially appreciating the views of the professional public on the subject matter. Also, I am of the opinion that the adopted changes represent a step backwards in relation to the current decision and that they are in contradiction with comparative practice and with the concept of strengthening managerial responsibility and professionalism," announced Milatović.
He also returned the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council and Courts to the Assembly for re-decision.
"Namely, the adopted Law foresees that the president and members of the Judicial Council from the ranks of distinguished lawyers, whose mandate expires due to the expiration of the term for which they were elected, continue to perform their duties until the election of new members, and for a maximum of two years. I pointed out that the above solution questionable in the context of compliance with Amendment VIII paragraph 7 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which established that the mandate of the Judicial Council lasts four years. By applying the adopted decision, the membership of the Judicial Council for eminent lawyers could, de facto, be extended to six years, which is longer than limits prescribed by the Constitution. Also, in this way, the members of the Judicial Council are placed in a different legal position compared to the other members of the Council. In addition, I pointed out that in terms of expediency, this decision relativizes the obligation of the competent institutions to, in in accordance with the constitutional obligations, they undertake activities in a timely manner with the aim of filling the vacant positions in the Judicial Council", adds the President of the State.
He says that Montenegro's membership in the European Union, in the past year of his mandate, was one of the most important pillars of his activities, and that he promoted the idea of joining the EU in 2028 in the country and abroad, "despite numerous skeptics".
"Therefore, I hope that in the time ahead, the policy of striks will be replaced by the efforts of all institutional actors in Montenegro to, through their actions, work on the fundamental progress of our society, based on the full rule of law and respect for the Constitution and the law. Finally, it is important to state that, regardless of the qualitatively questionable legislative process, which followed the adoption of these laws, significant work was done in order to meet the temporary criteria and obtain a positive IBAR and the current convocation of the Parliament of Montenegro, who have contributed to the completion of this important stage of our EU journey, I want to congratulate them on the achieved result," said Milatović.
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