Candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court Zoran Vukićević announced today that the Constitutional Committee did not violate the Constitution when it concluded that former judge of that court, Dragana Đuranović, had met the conditions for termination of her position due to meeting the conditions for retirement.
At today's session of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, where consultative hearings of candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court continued, the president of that committee and MP of the ZBCG-New Serbian Democracy caucus, Jelena Božović, asked him to comment on the Constitutional Committee's vote that Đuranović had met the retirement requirement, and said that it had become a political issue that was why the opposition was not coming to the sessions.
Vukićević responded that the committee acted entirely in accordance with Article 7 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, in that he, as the proposer, received information that Đuranović had met the conditions for retirement.
"I have to admit, please help me, is the other missing fact respected, which is that the Constitutional Court sends the notification of the applicant's eligibility for retirement six months in advance. The Constitution has certainly not been violated, it is possible that there is only one provision in the law," he said.
At the session of the Parliament of Montenegro on December 17 last year, the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić read the conclusions of the Constitutional Committee and stated that he had noted the termination of Đuranović's office.
Earlier that day, the Constitutional Committee reached a conclusion to announce the election of two judges of the Constitutional Court elected by the Parliament, and to discuss with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, that he announce the election of two more judges of the Constitutional Court for which he is competent.
The opposition is boycotting the work of parliament due to the termination of Đuranović's office, claiming that the Constitution has been violated.
DON'T MISS IT
Vukićević: Disability should not be an obstacle to contributing to society and my professional work, I have never been a party member
At today's session of the Constitutional Committee, Vukićević said that after graduating from university, he worked as a trainee lawyer until he took the bar exam, and that since then, in 1994, he has been a lawyer continuously.
"Let me emphasize that my personal story strengthened my conviction to apply for the Constitutional Court. I must tell you that at the age of 41, I experienced a serious life-threatening accident. I spent a month in a coma and lost my right forearm. Despite these obstacles, I continued to fight professionally and personally so that disability should not be an obstacle to contributing to society and to my professional work," he said.
He added that his appointment as a judge of the Constitutional Court would represent a step towards harmonization with European practice, and that knowledge, experience and integrity are key when selecting for judicial positions, not physical predispositions.
"In principle, I have dealt with almost all areas of law. Advocacy is a specific profession. Mostly litigation, but I have also worked on serious criminal cases. My goal is to contribute to the strengthening of the Constitutional Court as an institution that would guarantee the protection of the rights and freedoms of all citizens, and I think that my personal and professional path give special weight to my candidacy and enable me to contribute to the work of this court in a special way," he said.
He added that his possible appointment would, apart from himself, be an encouragement to young people with disabilities who are at the beginning of their careers, but also that he has never been a member of any party.
"I became disabled at the age of 41 as a clearly formed person on a personal and professional level. But if I have difficulties with the system and discrimination, I can imagine what younger people are going through. My election to this position would provide encouragement for such people," he said.
Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Dragović said that Vukićević's health problem cannot be an obstacle to taking a stand, but only knowledge and professional qualities.
He asked Vukićević what the Constitutional Court was like in the 1990s, when he was starting his career, and what it is like now, and also whether he had any desire to become a judge of any court during his time as a lawyer.
Vukićević responded that he only learned after the accident that practicing law was physically difficult, but also that, if he had been healthy, he would probably "stick only to practicing law."
"If you ask me about the practice of the Constitutional Court in the 1990s and today, it's heaven and earth. I'm not just referring to the staff, but also to the powers. Their priority was not the protection of human rights, but determining whether certain regulations were in accordance with the Constitution or not - only reviewing general acts, not individual ones. Now they are buried with individual general acts," he pointed out.
Bonus video:
