The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, said that he will announce a public call for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court after that institution determines at its session that there are reasons for the termination of office or dismissal of the judge and informs him about it within the legal deadline.
He says that he is not competent to determine the fulfillment of the conditions for the termination of judicial office, but that this is the exclusive competence and responsibility of the Constitutional Court, just as he is not competent to dismiss the judges of the Constitutional Court, because that is the Constitutional competence of the Assembly.
He indicates that, to date, he has not received a notification from the Constitutional Court about the termination of office for any of the judges of that court proposed by the President of the State.
He also said that he is worried about yesterday's events in the Assembly, which, he says, can have far-reaching consequences for institutional stability in the country.
He says that it is unclear why the parliamentary Constitutional Committee, by creating a different practice in identical legal matters, threatened legal certainty and unlawfully took over the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.
"The supreme role of the Constitutional Court, when it comes to preserving constitutionality and legality in the country, requires full functionality, integrity and independence of that institution.
"In this sense, the election and dismissal of judges of the Constitutional Court must be based on strict compliance with the procedures established by the Constitution of Montenegro and the Law on the Constitutional Court.
"As is well known, according to the Constitution of Montenegro, judges of the Constitutional Court are elected and dismissed by the Parliament of Montenegro, and the provision of Article 154 paragraph 3 establishes that the occurrence of reasons for termination of office or dismissal is determined by the Constitutional Court at a session and informs the Parliament accordingly.
"Furthermore, the provision of Article 7 paragraph 1 of the Law on the Constitutional Court prescribes that the President of Montenegro and the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, as authorized proposers, carry out the procedure of nominating judges of the Constitutional Court after receiving notification of the termination of office or dismissal of a judge.
"Paragraph 2 of the same article stipulates that the Constitutional Court will inform the proposer who proposed that judge about the fulfillment of the conditions for an old-age pension, i.e. the expiration of the mandate of a judge of the Constitutional Court, six months before the fulfillment of the conditions for exercising the right to an old-age pension, i.e. before the expiration of the mandate .
"According to the cited Constitutional and legal provisions, I note that, when it comes to the implementation of the procedure for nominating two judges of the Constitutional Court, I will fully conform to the established scope of competence that I have in that procedure as the President of Montenegro.
"Such an approach entails announcing a public call for the election of a judge after the Constitutional Court, in accordance with Article 154 paragraph 3 of the Constitution, determines at a session that there are reasons for the termination of office or dismissal of a judge and informs me of that fact within the legal deadline.
"Therefore, as the President of Montenegro, I note that I am not competent to determine the fulfillment of the conditions for the termination of judicial office, but that is the exclusive competence and responsibility of the Constitutional Court, just as I am not competent to dismiss the judges of the Constitutional Court because that is the Constitutional competence of the Parliament of Montenegro.
"I would like to point out that, until today, I have not received a notification from the Constitutional Court about the termination of office for any of the judges of the Constitutional Court proposed by the President of the country. At the same time, as the President of Montenegro, I am concerned about yesterday's events in the Parliament of Montenegro, which may have far-reaching consequences for institutional stability in the country.
"In this particular case, it remains unclear why the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, by creating a different practice in the same legal matters, threatened legal certainty and unlawfully took over the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, which is established in Article 154 paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
"As a society, we are at a critical moment of the violation of the constitutional and legal order, which can be disastrous for the further democratic development of the country and our European path. The ill-considered and unfounded decisions of the current government, made while ignoring all well-founded and justified criticism, are especially dangerous if concern the activities of the most important institutions in Montenegro.
"By my example, as before, I will continue to carry out my activities in accordance with the competences that belong to me based on the Constitution and the law, at the same time pointing out numerous institutional anomalies which, unfortunately, we are witnessing more and more every day," announced Milatović.
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