By the will of the President of the Assembly Andrije Mandić it will depend on whether the Minister of Justice will Andrej Milović to be able to participate in the work of the parliamentary session where the decision on his dismissal will be made.
The reason why the decision is up to Mandić is that this issue is not defined by the Constitution, laws, or the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
Milović told "Dan" yesterday that he expects the head of the legislative chamber to invite him to the session, saying that anything else would be an unprecedented case. Mandić did not respond to "Vijesta" about whether he would invite Milović.
In the last ten years, the parliament has discussed the dismissal of ministers on several occasions, but they rarely spoke at those sessions. The last such one happened in June 2021, when the dismissal of the then Minister of Justice was discussed Vladimir Leposavić.
It is from the then leader of the Assembly Alekse Bečić asked to be allowed to speak at the session, for which he was granted permission.
"We now have one request... Minister Leposavic is with us and he expressed his desire to address the Assembly... From a formal and legal point of view, the address of Minister Leposavic would be questionable, because he is not the proposer of the act... However, having in terms of democracy, always our desire to be good hosts, and since this is about Minister Leposavic, I think we should give him the opportunity to address the Assembly, before the Prime Minister's final speech", said Bečić on that occasion.
Leposavic thanked him, saying that he knows that the Rules of Procedure do not provide for the possibility of the minister's address in that format.
"... I will try to be brief and comment on what is the subject of discussion...", he stated.
The former Minister of the Interior also took part in the work of the dismissal session Rasko Konjević. He is from that position, which he held in the government Milo Đukanović, replaced in February 2016.
Konjević, however, did not speak at the session held at the end of October 2022, at which the Assembly, together with his then party colleague Ranko Krivokapić (Social Democratic Party), dismissed from the government Dritan Abazović. Konjević was the Minister of Defense, and Krivokapić was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He did not participate in the work of that session either. The two were dismissed even though Abazović's cabinet was voted no-confidence three months earlier.
It is written in the Rules of Procedure that its provisions relating to the procedure for the election, that is, the appointment of officials, are also applied to the dismissal procedure, unless otherwise provided for in that document. Some MPs with whom "Vijesti" spoke interpreted this as saying that they think that the procedure for replacing a minister should be identical to the procedure for electing a government, and that it should follow the deadlines that were applied in that case. Others, on the other hand, claim that the Rules of Procedure cannot be interpreted that way, because the parliament does not elect ministers individually, but rather the government as a whole.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic the day before yesterday, he proposed the dismissal of Milović, who had previously accused him of leading the party, the government and the state into an "abyss". Spajić replied that the reason for his initiative was Milović's "earlier appearances in public", and said that the Minister of Justice was trying to work with the head of state Jakov Milatović destabilizes the Government.
In the motion for dismissal, Spajić stated that the Government undertook a series of activities aimed at accelerating economic growth, European integration and strengthening the rule of law, and that the largest number of members of his cabinet expressed "full commitment to those priorities through professional and personal engagement." On the other hand, he states that Milović was on several occasions "not in line with what the Government's priorities were", and that "by his actions without prior consultation with the President and members of the Government, he damaged the overall context and reputation of the entire Government, as well as the parliamentary majority with whose support he was elected to the position of Minister of Justice".
"Given that Milović did not adequately respond to expectations and tasks, and that it is extremely important for the legal and political system that the position of Minister of Justice be performed by a person with the highest degree of trust from the executive power, I am convinced that the necessary steps have to be taken and access the minister's dismissal. Otherwise, further performance of the function would further threaten the interests of Montenegro from the aspect of internal and foreign policy, as well as the values of the 44th Government, which are related to meritocracy and the strengthening of democratic and depoliticized institutions," the proposal reads.
There is still no date for the session on Milović
The head of the Assembly, Mandić, did not respond to the "News" when the parliament will discuss the dismissal of Milović.
Member of Parliament of the Democratic People's Party (DNP), Maja Vukićević, said the night before yesterday in the show "Reflektor" on TV "Vijesti" that the proposal on dismissal could be included under the item elections and appointments of the sixth session of the parliament, which is open, but for which it has not been determined the agenda nor the continuation date.
One deputy explained unofficially to the "News" that the head of the Assembly could propose that, although the point of elections and appointments is always the last on the agenda, Spajić's request should be discussed first.
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