The European Union (EU) calls on all institutions in Montenegro to respect the law and the Constitution of the country, as this is crucial for Montenegro's European path.
"The EU calls on all authorities and political leaders to ensure the full functionality of the Constitutional Court as an essential guarantee of the rule of law and democratic stability, including ensuring timely appointments based on merit, transparency and legal requirements," European Commission (EC) spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said in a written response.
He recalled that during last week's visit to Montenegro, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos encouraged all political forces to join forces to overcome the current impasse and ensure the broadest support for EU-related reforms.
Commissioner Kos, claims Mercia's spokesperson, has offered the EC's support in exploring possible solutions in the interest of Montenegro and its accession to the EU, including the possibility of an assessment by an independent international body, such as the Venice Commission.
"The EU once again urges Montenegro to amend its current legal framework to introduce a specific regulation on work-related rights, including retirement criteria, for judges and prosecutors, which should be in line with European standards and existing recommendations of the Venice Commission," Brussels spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.
The Montenegrin opposition is asking President Jakov Milatović to overturn the parliamentary majority's decision to retire judges from the Constitutional Court. The opposition has characterized it as a constitutional coup.
Out of the planned seven, the Constitutional Court currently has five judges, as one recently retired, and the procedure for electing a new one has not even begun.
A constitutional crisis arose over the manner of retirement of three more judges.
The Constitution of Montenegro clearly stipulates that only the Constitutional Court in session can determine which judges have met the retirement requirement.
In the disputed case, on December 17, without such notification from the Constitutional Court, and based on a letter from the President of that court, Snežana Armenko, the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament concluded that the conditions for the retirement of three judges had been met.
He also decided to announce an advertisement for the selection of new ones.
On the same day, based on that decision of the Committee, the President of the Assembly, Andrija Mandić, noted the termination of the mandate of one of the three, Judge Dragana Đuranović.
He could not do the same for the other two because that is the "competence" of the president of the state, on whose proposal they were originally elected as judges.
With the retirement of three, the court would be left with only three judges, which would block the decision-making process until new ones are elected.
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