Lawyers who applied to two advertisements for the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court, although they cannot apply to both competitions by law, should not be disqualified from the race for a position in that institution.
This was assessed for "Vijesti" by a lawyer and former Secretary General of the Government. Boris Marić, answering the question - should these candidates be disqualified, considering that they may not know the law because they applied for two calls.
"I think they should be recognized for their 'older' application. It does not mean that the emphasized desire to run for Constitutional Court judges, which probably contributed to the failure to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the rules of validity of the application, should be of a disqualifying nature," he stated.
The Law on the Constitutional Court (Article 9, paragraph 5) states that the same person cannot apply for public invitations from both the parliamentary Constitutional Committee and the head of state. However, it is not specified what the consequences would be if this were to happen.
"Vijesti" contacted several lawyers yesterday (apart from Marić) and asked them what should be done, but none of them wanted to speak officially. One lawyer said that the three candidates should be disqualified and that it was "a shame" that they did not know the regulations.
Another lawyer stated that these candidates should not be "crossed out", because the law does not prescribe sanctions for applying to two advertisements. He explains that the norm of the law is "undefined when both proposers announce the competition at the same time", and adds that those candidates who applied to those calls - should be prevented from participating in the one they applied to later.
Asked if he thought that these lawyers had compromised their integrity because they did not know the law, the interviewee for "Vijesti" replied that this statement was correct, but that he knew of many cases of judges who ran for "all possible positions in various courts", calling it "careerism".
President of the Minor Offences Court in Bijelo Polje Alija Beganović, Council of Europe expert Jovan Kojičić and a lawyer Nenad Djordjevic, applied for two advertisements published by the Constitutional Committee and the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic.
Due to the provisions of the Law on the Constitutional Court, the head of state has formed a special commission whose task will be to determine whether the applications of the three candidates were submitted in accordance with the Constitution, the Law on the Constitutional Court, and the published public invitation.
"Of course, this may affect the character of the procedure in the part of the interview with the proposers and the subsequent decision on the candidate, but, I repeat, it is not a reason for disqualification," Marić underlined.
President of the Constitutional Committee Jelena Božović (New Serbian Democracy), announced at yesterday's session of that working body that they are awaiting Milatović's response on who the candidates who applied to his invitation are.
Yesterday, the Constitutional Committee adopted the report of the commission for the selection of two judges by public call of December 23, 2024. It was noted that the candidates for judges, in addition to Beganović, Kojičić and Đorđević, Marko Blagojevic, Goran Velimirović, Zoran Vukićević, Nerma Dobardzic, Jovan Jovanovic, Muhamed Đokaj, Sanja Maslenjak, Medina Musovic, Mirjana Radovic i Milva Prelevic, and that everyone submitted timely and complete applications.
Božović said that the board received a letter from Milatović "indicating that they submit the final list of candidates" for the competition they had announced.
"We sent that conclusion and the list, and as the president of the committee, I signed a letter asking them to provide us with a list of applicants... Considering that the law stipulates that candidates cannot apply to both calls, this is something we will only determine once we receive the list from the president," she said.
Member of the Europe Now Movement (PES) Darko Dragović, stated at the session that it was true that the commission held two sessions and determined the timeliness of the applications, but that their task was to control whether they were in accordance with the invitation, not with the Constitution and the law, that is, that their job was not to check whether anyone applied to the invitations of both proposers.
He added that it was learned from the media that certain candidates had applied for two calls.
"I believe that, in addition to the request that you will send to the president of the state as the proposer, it would be good to ask for information about when the applications for candidates arrived at the president of the state, because Article 9 (of the Law on the Constitutional Court) states that a person cannot apply (to two calls), not that they cannot be elected or do not meet the requirements," he explained.
Dragović said that the law does not provide for a sanction for applying for two competitions.
"If he cannot apply, he cannot participate in either 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 timing of the second application...", he concluded.
Milatović will, as announced by his Public Relations Office, speak with all candidates who applied to his public call and who meet the conditions for selection, "and based on evidence of meeting the conditions for selection and the results of the interviews with the candidates, draft a reasoned proposal for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court."
On February 13, he established a list of registered candidates, which included, in addition to Beganović, Kojičić and Đorđević, Danilo Cupic, Dusko Jovovic, Mirjana Vučinić, Dejan Vuksic, Nataša Radonjić i Nikola Golubović.
The Constitutional Court currently has five out of seven judges. The Constitutional Committee has announced advertisements for the selection of successors to the position. Milorad Gogić i Dragana Đuranović, and the announcement of President Milatović for the selection of a judge to replace Budimir Šćepanović, who is still in the Constitutional Court, although, in accordance with the Pension and Disability Insurance Law (PIO), he has met the conditions for termination of his position.
According to the Constitution, the judges of the Constitutional Court, whose mandate lasts 12 years, are elected and dismissed by parliament - two judges at the proposal of the president and five at the proposal of a committee.
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