Two Deputy Prime Ministers hired retirees as their advisors, despite explicit legal provisions that a person who has attained the right to a pension cannot be employed in a state body.
Several legal experts told "Vijesti" that the provisions of the Law on Civil Servants and Employees and the Decree on the Government apply precisely to situations in which the first associates of the Vice Presidents Momo Koprivica and Milun Zogović are, while the executive branch has not responded to questions about advisors Milan Popović and Predrag Bulatović for days.
At the same time, the Administrative Inspection determines the legality of these appointments.
"The Administrative Inspection has received initiatives to review the cases you are interested in. The Administrative Inspection is acting on all initiatives, including those you are interested in, and the interested public will be informed in a timely manner about the outcomes of the procedure," the Ministry of Public Administration responded to "Vijesti" when asked about the interpretation of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, when it comes to situations in which pensioners are hired into state bodies through appointments.
"Vijesti" did not receive any answers from the offices of Koprivica and Zogović even after more than seven days.
Popović was appointed to the position of advisor in mid-November 2023, and Bulatović in late October 2024.
What do regulations, lawyers, and SAI reports say?
Article 34 of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees states that a person who is a beneficiary of the right to a pension cannot establish an employment relationship in a state body.
The same regulation, in Article 62, categorizes advisors to the President of the State, the Parliament, the Government and the Vice President as civil servants.
"The Vice Presidents of the Parliament of Montenegro and the Vice Presidents of the Government may have advisors, in accordance with the regulations of these bodies," the Law states, specifying that the mandate of these advisors ends with the termination of the mandate of the Head of State, Parliament, Government or Vice President, resignation or dismissal.
"The titles of the persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the appointment of these persons, as well as their rights and obligations, shall be regulated by the regulations of these bodies," the Law states.
Since Montenegro does not have a Law on the Government, Popović and Bulatović were appointed based on Article 16, paragraph 3 of the Decree on the Government. This provision stipulates almost the same as the Law on Civil Servants.
"The Deputy Prime Minister has a cabinet. The cabinet referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article performs professional and other tasks related to the exercise of the function of the Deputy Prime Minister."
"The Deputy Prime Minister, in his cabinet, has advisors who, upon his proposal, are appointed and dismissed by the Government. The mandate of the Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister shall terminate upon the termination of the mandate of the Deputy Prime Minister, resignation or dismissal," the Regulation states.
The position of advisor in the office of the Deputy Prime Minister is categorized as a job position in the latest Rulebook on Internal Organization and Systematization of the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro.
The level of education is not prescribed, but the number of employees for each vice president's office is, as well as the job description.
By doing so, say lawyers contacted by "Vijesti", the Government is admitting that these jobs have been systematized.
"...Which means that this is an engagement that implies some kind of employment relationship, which is contrary to the Civil Servants Act," they explain.
They also warn that the State Audit Institution (SAI), in its Performance Audit titled "Success of Engaging Natural Persons Without Employment in State Bodies" from 2023, emphasized that this type of engagement is contrary to regulations.
The auditors were explicit in that report:
"Audited entities should conclude contracts with natural persons without establishing an employment relationship only for jobs for which there are no systematized job positions and jobs that are not within the core competence of the state body, or that they should apply the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees for all new employment," the SAI report states.
Future advisors according to stricter criteria
While they did not respond to questions from "Vijesti", the office of Deputy Prime Minister Koprivica announced two days ago that during last week's government session, they worked on amendments to the Draft Law on Civil Servants and Employees, which concerns "defining anti-corruption restrictions during the appointment, or rather, appointment, as well as anti-corruption integrity checks, for significant categories of persons in the highest positions of government, especially in the executive branch."
This amendment, they said, stipulates that an integrity check procedure be carried out before appointing advisors to the President of the State, the Parliament and the Government, advisors to the Vice Presidents of the Parliament and the Government, the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the aforementioned three government bodies.
It is also stipulated that a person who has been finally convicted of a criminal offense that makes him unworthy of holding public office, who has been dismissed, suspended or has been given a disciplinary measure in the last three years for violating laws regulating the prevention of corruption, who has engaged in illegal lobbying in the last three years or has been registered in the lobbyist register in the last year, cannot be appointed to these positions...
"Vijesti" recently reported that the majority of members of the Government last Thursday had objections to the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and Employees, and their remarks mainly lowered the proposed criteria, which is why the Minister of Public Administration Maraš Dukaj expressed his opinion in relation to the suggestions of his colleagues.
The government adopted the draft law two days ago, but not as proposed by the Ministry of Public Administration and agreed with the European Commission (EC). Conclusions were adopted regarding provisions that did not suit the majority of ministers, so the amended regulation will be submitted to MPs for discussion and decision-making.
A large part of the executive branch opposed the solution that senior management personnel - heads of agencies, bosses, inspectors, etc. must have a four-year university degree (VII-1 level of education). For most ministers, it was also controversial that the Draft Law submitted by the MPA stipulated that the acting head of an agency must be elected from among employees in the state administration, and not that they come to the public service from other sectors without respecting the new legal criteria.
Gogić under a service contract with Mandić
Former Constitutional Court judge Milorad Gogić has also been engaged in the Parliament of Montenegro since September last year, but not as an advisor.
"Vijesti" was previously told by the parliament that Gogić was hired as an associate in the cabinet of Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić, under a service contract.
At the end of May last year, Gogić became eligible for retirement, which resulted in his termination as a judge of the Constitutional Court.
He then turned 66 and became eligible for retirement in accordance with the Labor Law, which was later amended so that the retirement age was raised to 67.
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