DUšan Raičević, the first man of Bar and deputy of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) in the Montenegrin parliament, should give up one of those functions according to the new Law on Prevention of Corruption due to incompatibility of functions. This is written in the opinion that the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) submitted to Raičević on July 23.
The same provisions of law should apply and apply in the case Marko Kovačević, president of Nikšić Municipality and deputy of the New Serbian Democracy. Yesterday, he did not respond to messages and calls from "Vijesti". "Vijesti" was previously unofficially told that KAS also sent him a letter informing him that he has to choose between the two positions he currently holds.
On April 16 this year, Kovačević replaced his party colleague from the NSD in the parliamentary seat. Milan Lekić, who was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pljevlja Coal Mine on March 29 and resigned in the Assembly of Montenegro due to incompatibility of functions. He came to head the Municipality of Nikšić in May 2021.
Article 14 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, which entered into force in June, stipulates that "a public official who performs duties in the state administration and local administration and self-government bodies cannot perform the function of deputy".
After Raičević was informed by the ASK at the end of June that according to the new law he would have to choose one of two positions, he requested a legal interpretation on whether this decision can be made retroactively since the ASK determined in September of last year that he was not in conflict interest.
The agency sent him an opinion, which "Vijesti" has access to, in which it is written that the public official, the president of the municipality of Bar, to which position he was first elected on January 11, 2023, cannot perform the function of a member of the Parliament of Montenegro, to which was elected on July 27, 2023.
Raičević told "Vijesta" that this document has not yet been officially delivered to him.
ASK states that according to Article 14 and paragraph 3 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, a public official who performs duties in the state administration and local administration and local self-government bodies cannot perform the function of deputy.
"Additionally, the appointee is obliged to resign from public office within 30 days of receiving the cited notice from the Agency dated 20.06.2024/XNUMX/XNUMX. year and inform the Agency about the aforementioned", it is stated in the document signed by the director of ASK, Jelena Perović.
In the letter she sent to Raičević, she referred to the new law, which in Article 30 paragraph 1 prescribes that "when he suspects that he is in a situation in which there is a conflict of interest or a limitation in the exercise of his public function, the public official is obliged to take measures to resolve the conflict of interest or compliance with restrictions in accordance with the law, as well as to report suspicions to the Agency by submitting a request for an opinion on the existence of a conflict of interest or restrictions on the exercise of public office".
"Article 15 of the aforementioned Law stipulates that a public official who, in the course of performing a public function, accepts to perform another duty, i.e. a function from Article 13 or Article 14 paragraphs 1 and 3 of this law, is obliged to, within 30 days from the beginning of the performance other functions, that is, duties, resign from public office", the letter states.
It is also written that if the public official does not resign in the case referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, it is considered that the public official's position has ended on the day of the start of the performance of another position.
It is explained that the previous opinion, which found that he had no conflict of interest, was in accordance with the law in force at the time, and according to the new Law on Prevention of Corruption, the public functions that the appointee performs as mayor and deputy are incompatible.
For this reason, he is obliged to resign from public office within 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter in question and inform the Agency about the above.
The Law on Prevention of Corruption, i.e. its amendments, is one of the IBAR laws, i.e. regulations that Montenegro had to adopt in order to receive a positive Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of Temporary Criteria for Chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR).
Montenegro received a positive IBAR at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) of Montenegro and the European Union (EU) in Brussels on June 26.
Although they were adopted, the amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption were harshly criticized by some of the public. And the Venice Commission stated, among other things, that the draft remained basically the same as the law currently in force, with a few adjustments in the text of the provisions.
At the Government session, during its adoption, the majority of the Government members criticized the law and requested, among other things, to better define the part on gifts, the statute of limitations, the lifestyle of officials, to return the jurisdiction of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT)...
The proposed changes narrowed the jurisdiction of the SDT, so that due to high corruption, it does not prosecute all public officials, but only "high-ranking" ones, and then their jurisdiction no longer includes criminal offenses related to violations of electoral rights, nor criminal offenses which concern abuse of position in economic operations and abuse of authority in the economy, if the acquired property benefit exceeds the amount of 40.000 euros.
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