The European Union is concerned about the decision of the Parliament of Montenegro to state the termination of the position of Judge Dragana Đuranović of the Constitutional Court.
This was announced at the press conference by the spokesperson of the European Commission (EC) for enlargement, Guillaume Mercier.
Answering a question from a journalist from the Television of Montenegro, he said that the EC calls on all institutions to respect the rule of law.
"It is crucial for the European path of Montenegro. The Constitution stipulates that the Constitutional Court is the one that decides on the mandates of judges, based on the criteria for retirement, and then informs the parliament accordingly," Mercije said.
He stated that the EU underlined that Montenegro should change the current legal framework, and separate the criteria for the retirement of judges, all in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
"All competent and political leaders must ensure the full functionality of the Constitutional Court, because it is the basic protector of the rule of law and democratic stability, including the timely appointment of a new judge based on merit and transparency," said Mercije.
Video: European Commission
A smoke bomb was thrown at the session of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro on December 17, after the vice president of the Committee and deputy of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Nermin Abdić said that he and his colleagues would not allow the session to continue.
Despite the throwing of a smoke bomb, the session continued and conclusions were adopted to publish an advertisement for the election of two judges of the Constitutional Court (US) elected by the Assembly, and to talk to the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, so that he publishes an advertisement for the election of two more judges US for which he is responsible.
After the smoke bomb was thrown, the DPS deputies entered the plenary hall for the session of the Parliament of Montenegro, after which the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić took a break.
The session continued after an hour, and Mandić then read the conclusions of the Constitutional Committee and stated that he had noted the termination of office of Constitutional Court Judge Dragana Đuranović.
MPs from DPS and Social Democrats (SD) chanted "treason" and hit the table in the parliament.
Until December 17, the Constitutional Court had six judges. Given that the parliament declared the termination of the office of judge Dragana Đuranović, if the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović were to accept the opinion of the Constitutional Committee and approve the retirement of the judges of the Constitutional Court Desanka Lopičić and Budimir Šćepanović, that institution would "fall" to three judges and no could decide.
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