The President of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee, Jelena Božović (New Serbian Democracy), said that they are waiting for a response from the Head of State, Jakov Milatović, about the candidates for judge of the Constitutional Court who have applied for his invitation.
The Constitutional Committee continued its session today, after there was no quorum yesterday. Opposition MPs did not attend the session.
The Report of the Commission for the Election of Two Judges of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro pursuant to the Public Call of December 23, 2024 was adopted by the votes of all those present.
At the beginning of the session, Chairwoman Božović read out the names of the judges who had applied: Alija Beganović, Marko Blagojević, Goran Velimirović, Zoran Vukićević, Nerma Dobardžić, Jovan Kojičić, Jovan Jovanović, Muhamed Đokaj, Sanja Maslenjak, Medina Mušović, Nenad Đorđević, Mirjana Radović and Milva Prelević.
She said that the Commission for the selection of two judges, which consisted of MPs Darko Dragović (Europe Now Movement), Nikola Rovčanin (Democrats) and Bogdan Božović (Socialist People's Party), as well as secretary Dragana Vukčević and independent advisor to the committee Sanela Ljuljanović, held two sessions, and that it was concluded that all candidates submitted timely and complete applications.
Božović also pointed out that Milatović had published a call for judges, and that the Law on the Constitutional Court stipulates that a candidate cannot apply for both vacancies.
"I would just like to remind you that we, as a committee, received a letter from the president of the state indicating that we should submit the final list of candidates who applied for the competition announced by the Constitutional Committee. We sent that conclusion and the list, and as the chairwoman of the committee, I signed a letter asking them to submit to us the list of candidates who applied for the call announced by the president. Given that the law stipulates that candidates cannot apply for both calls, this is something that we will only determine once we receive the list from the president," she said.
MP from the Europe Now Movement (PES) Darko Dragović pointed out that it is true that the commission held two sessions and determined the timeliness, and that their task was to control whether the applications were in accordance with the call, not with the Constitution and the law, that is, that their task was not to check whether anyone applied to the public calls of both proposers, but that this should be the task of the committee.
"I emphasize that the commission's task was to determine whether the candidates' applications were in accordance with the public invitation, and not whether they were submitted in accordance with the Constitution or the Law on the Constitutional Court, so we were obliged to move within the limits of the conditions that were provided exclusively by the public invitation," he said.
He did not add that it was learned from the media that certain candidates had applied for both calls.
"I believe that, with that request, which you will send to the president of the state as the proposer, it would be a good idea to ask for information about when the applications for candidates reached the president of the state, because Article 9 says that one cannot apply, not that one cannot be elected or that one does not meet the requirements," he explained.
Dragović said that the law states that one cannot apply for both calls, but that it does not provide for a sanction.
"If he cannot apply, he cannot participate in one of the procedures. We will define the position here whether he can participate in both procedures or only in one, and therefore it is very important that we know the time frame of the second application. The law is clear here - he cannot apply, but not to prejudge the decision of the Constitutional Court or the President, but if the position is taken hypothetically that the procedure cannot be carried out with the second applicant, we must know when he applied with the second applicant, or the President," he explained.
He added that if they take the position that someone who has applied for two invitations cannot automatically proceed to further procedures either at the board or with the president, it does not matter when they applied, but whether they did, but that it is best to wait for Milatović's statement.
"Vijesti" reported last week that the President of the Minor Offences Court in Bijelo Polje, Alija Beganović, Council of Europe expert Jovan Kojičić, and lawyer Nenad Đorđević, had applied for two vacancies for the election of judges of the Constitutional Court, which were announced by the Constitutional Committee and Milatović.
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"Three solutions" for the situation in Kotor
The second item on the agenda is current affairs.
SNP MP Bogdan Božović said that he was approached by the Union of Employees in the Municipality of Kotor, who cannot receive their salaries due to the unfinished elections.
Democratic MP Nikola Rovčanin said that there are three solutions - to elect judges to the Constitutional Court, for DPS to withdraw its appeal to the court, or, as in Šavnik, for the old convocation to elect.
"The mandate of the Šavnica parliament expired three years ago, and the Kotor parliament a few months ago. I truly expect that a solution will be found once the citizens have expressed their electoral will in free elections," he pointed out.
He added that the conditions will be met in a few months through the formation of the Constitutional Court.
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